Refrigeration plant will be refurbished

A Spokane refrigeration plant damaged by a three-alarm fire in December 2008 will be gutted and refurbished, Vice President Matt Plummer said Thursday.

Construction by Fisher & Sons Construction, of Burlington, Wash., will also include new office space and a temperature-controlled loading dock, he said.

Empire Cold Storage President Ron Plummer said Fisher was chosen for the $1 million project because of its experience building refrigeration plants.

He said completion is expected in mid-May.

The work is under way on the west end of what was a three-unit structure until the fire destroyed the middle unit, Matt Plummer said. Masonry walls shielded the units to the west and east.

The now-empty slab will be left that way for now, he said.

Plummer said the units to the east and west remained standing but have not been used since the fire. The unit at the east end also will be refurbished, for dry storage, he said.

Empire has provided cold-storage service to customers from its main, 75,000-square-foot plant at 1327 N. Oak St., he said.

Home showcase ground broken

Ground was broken Thursday for the 2010 Showcase of Homes, which will feature six Liberty Lake homes built to Certified Built Green standards.

The homes, with prices in the $250,000 to $300,000 range, will be certified to three-, four- and five-star standards, said Katherine Morgan, marketing and events director for the Spokane Home Builder’s Association.

She said five builders are committed to the show. They include George White Homes, Brent Peterson Homes, the Home Builders Association, and Greenstone Homes, which will build two. The fifth contractor wants its name withheld temporarily, Morgan said.

Built Green criteria include energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and use of resource-efficient materials.

The homes will be built in The River District, a Greenstone development. The show will run June 18-27. Educational events, speakers and vendors will be included.

Ex-prosecutor opens office

Spokane attorney Paul Gaffney has taken an office inside the downtown Fernwell Executive Suites, 505 W. Riverside.

Before starting his private practice, Gaffney spent 20 years working for Alaska’s Department of Corrections and then worked as a deputy prosecutor in Yakima and Spokane.

His focus will be on family law, including elder and juvenile concerns, criminal defense and tax law.

Co-working area for startups

LaunchPad Inland Northwest has opened a co-working area on the fifth floor of the downtown Spokane Holley Mason Building, 157 S. Howard.

Company partners Alan Battle and Bill Kalivas are offering work areas, along with broadband service, fax machine, conference space and private offices to startups and anyone launching a business.

A Spokesman-Review video showcasing the co-working options is at www.spokesman.com/video.

For information on LaunchPad, go to www.launchpadinw.com.

Sterling adds space

Spokane Valley manufacturer Sterling International is leasing 32,000 square feet in Building 16 of the Spokane Business & Industrial Park, 3808 N. Sullivan Road.

The company – which makes insecticide-free bug traps and insect prevention systems – already uses part of the same building for offices.

The new space will be vacated by current company, Girard Management/CHEP.

A Sterling spokesperson said the added space will store finished products.

Window maker moves to park

Another company has taken space inside the industrial park. McVay Brothers Contractors, Inc., doing business as Coeur d’Alene Window Company, has leased 16,000 square feet inside Building 18.

The company makes windows and patio doors.