The Dirt: Whitworth music building remodel will start in July

Whitworth University plans this July to start a $13.5 million project to remodel and add space to its music building.

Construction will remodel the center’s 15,625 square feet and provide a 21,481-square-foot addition for new teaching studios, practice and rehearsal rooms, and enclosed lobby space linking the center to the Cowles Auditorium nearby. The university hasn’t yet selected a contractor.

Integrus Architecture is the designer for the center, originally built in 1978. Work is expected to be done by August 2016.

Fundraising for the project continues.

Among contributions, The Harriet Cheney Cowles Foundation has pledged $2 million, and Whitworth Trustee Walt Oliver and his wife, Kay, have offered $3.75 million. Last year, administrators announced the expanded building will be named the Cowles Music Center to reflect the Cowles family’s support of Whitworth and the arts.

The Cowles family controls Cowles Co., which owns The Spokesman-Review and Inland Empire Paper Co., and has real estate holdings throughout the area.

FedEx expanding facility in Valley

FedEx Ground is expanding its Spokane Valley facility in the Spokane Business and Industrial Park, 3808 N. Sullivan Road.

The project will add about 46,300 square feet to the 76,450-square-foot center built about 10 years ago. It’s scheduled to be completed in October. FedEx spokeswoman Nikki Mendicino said the expansion will include material-handling equipment to process packages.

Mendicino said the construction is part of FedEx Ground’s nationwide network expansion to boost daily package volume capacity and enhance speed and service capabilities. Since 2005, the company has opened 11 new hubs featuring advanced material-handling systems and expanded or relocated more than 500 local facilities.

RSD buys warehouse on First Avenue

Refrigeration Supplies Distributor has purchased a 31,000-square-foot warehouse near the University District to expand its Spokane operations.

California-based RSD recently bought the facility at 730 E. First Ave. from a partnership entity for Airefco Inc., an Oregon-based wholesale distributor of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment. The Spokane County Assessor’s Office recorded a $1.2 million sale price.

RSD, currently at 212 E. Pacific Ave., is an independently owned refrigeration parts and equipment wholesaler with 75 locations. The company plans to occupy the First Avenue property by January.

Treva Lind