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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Coeur d’Alene complex will serve lower-income seniors

Groundbreaking planned Wednesday for 37-unit St. Vincent de Paul project

This plot of land across from the Lynn Peterson House, a  14-unit building for low-income housing in Coeur d’Alene, is set for a 37-unit housing for low-income seniors. (Kathy Plonka)

Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem and other city officials are scheduled to attend a groundbreaking 1 p.m. Wednesday for Neider House, which will provide 37 units of housing for seniors with incomes 30 percent below the area median.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society of North Idaho is sponsoring the project. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide a $3.4 million grant, and Idaho Housing and Finance will kick in another $1.4 million.

Jeff Conroy, the society’s executive director, said Neider House will help fill a desperate need in North Idaho. Rents will be federally subsidized for 40 years, he said.

Contractors Northwest will handle construction. Goodale & Barbieri Co. was the development consultant.

The project, at 550 W. Neider Ave., is adjacent to the Lynn Peterson House and its 14 units of housing for mental health problems, which opened in November. HUD and IHFA also assisted that project.

Conroy said completion is expected shortly before Christmas.

“They’re pretty high-end,” he said. “They look good.”

Thompson’s Orthotics now in new home

Thompson’s Orthotics and Prosthetics has moved into its new building at 401 S. Sherman Ave., Spokane.

The $1.5 million, 12,000-square-foot project was constructed by Meridian Construction of Spokane and designed by CHSQA of Boise.

The building accommodates eight examination rooms and a large conference room, with attached off-street parking.

Patients and visitors will be able to see orthotic and prosthetic devices made on-site.

Kensington Court being upgraded

The Kensington Court Apartments is getting a $1 million upgrade, including a new roof, heat-pump heating and cooling system.

Dave Roberts, senior developer for Spokane Housing Ventures, said the improvements will move the 33-unit development closer to compliance with state sustainability guidelines.

Besides the new HVAC system, which allow for individual metering of the units, they will also receive new insulation and roofing.

Window casings that date to the project’s construction in 1901 will be stripped of lead-based paint, he said.

Roberts said the work should be done in six months.

Family center remodel complete

St. Joseph Family Center, which offers outpatient counseling and healing from its north Spokane campus, has expanded and remodeled and enlarged its Counseling Services Building, at 1016 N. Superior St.

Formerly administrative offices, the three-floor services building has more space for personal and group counseling, medication management, mediation, senior services and group therapy.

The building now has roughly 5,200 square feet, said St. Joseph spokeswoman Nicole Sandvig.

St. Joseph Family Center is a nonprofit operation supported by grants, contributions and fundraising. The expansion of the Counseling Services Building came from a $160,000 M.J. Murdoch Charitable Grant and matching local dollars.

The new counseling building interior plan was the work of Spokane architecture firm Heylman Martin & Associates.

Staff writer Tom Sowa contributed to this report. Here’s the Dirt is a weekly report on new developments and business openings, closings or movement in the Inland Northwest. E-mail business@spokesman.com or call (509) 459-5528.