New buildings, tubing hill planned for Mount Spokane
Washington state Parks and Recreation Commission has been issued a permit by Spokane County to build a new ski instruction building on Mount Spokane for $235,224. The construction is part of a $700,000 project that will include a tubing hill, observation building and ski hut, said Brad McQuarrie, general manager at Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park.
The work will take place near the resort’s Lodge One and will be done in time for the 2018-19 winter season. McQuarrie said he initially planned to have all work done for this season, but permitting took longer than anticipated.
“We’re trying to get going on both buildings right away,” McQuarrie said.
The projects are funded by a capital grant approved by the Legislature in the 2015-17 biennium, as well as by Mt. Spokane’s concessionaires.
The ski instruction building, called the Alpine Learning Center, will also have a new surface lift, sometimes referred to as a magic carpet.
The work will allow for up to 250 ski instruction lessons per day, up from the current 70.
“We’ve got over 100 instructors,” McQuarrie said. “We’re going to expand the whole learning area.”
The new tubing hill will be moved near Lodge One and be open this season. A warming hut and observation building also will be on the site.
Spokane-based ALSC Architects designed the project. Coffman Engineers, of Spokane, is also working on the project.
Downtown burger restaurant to begin kitchen work
A permit was issued for $150,000 in internal work on Incrediburger, a new downtown Spokane hamburger restaurant at 909 W. First Ave. in the old location of Dempsey’s Brass Rail, which went out of business in 2011.
The work will include a new kitchen and dining area, according to city permit records.
Chef and restaurateur Adam Hegsted plans to put a casual eatery in the first-floor space. It will occupy the entire first floor of the building, about 3,000 square feet. The new burger joint will feature outdoor patio sidewalk seating and a walk-up counter, and will serve beer, gourmet burgers and breakfast. It is expected to open by the end of the year.
Hegsted also owns or is a partner in Wandering Table, Yards Bruncheon and Gilded Unicorn, in Spokane; Farmhouse Kitchen and Silo Bar, in Ponderay; Eat Good Café, in Liberty Lake; Republic Kitchen and Taphouse, in Post Falls; and Le Catering, a catering company based in Liberty Lake.
The building that will house the burger restaurant has been owned by developer Jerry Dicker since 2015, and his company, GVD Commercial Properties, is on the second floor.
GVD is leading the improvement. The project’s contractor is Mauer Construction, of Spokane. Uptic Studios, of Spokane, designed the internal work and Summit Engineering, of Spokane Valley, worked on the project. All companies are based in Spokane.
Cottage housing for homeless women, children
Walker Construction , of Spokane, was issued more than $2.2 million in permits this week to begin construction on a transitional housing project for women and children. The development, at 2176 W. Fairview Ave., will have a final price tag of $6.2 million, 24 cottages and a community center in the Audobon-Downriver neighborhood.
The development is being done by Transitions, a nonprofit focused on bringing women and children out of poverty and homelessness. The organization also runs housing for women and children fleeing domestic violence and programs for women dealing with drug abuse.
According to the city permits, the land is owned by Dominican Outreach Services. Transitions first program, Miryam’s House, was started in 1986 in a home owned by the Dominican Sisters, a Catholic organization. In 1995, Catholic nuns from the Dominicans, Sisters of the Holy Names, Sisters of Providence and the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia formed the nonprofit Transitions.
Currently, the organization runs Miryam’s House, New Leaf Bakery Cafe, the Women’s Hearth, EduCare and the Transitional Living Center.
The cottages will be less than 1,000 square feet and be a mix of single-story studios and three-bedroom, two-story houses. The complex will include two playgrounds and a small garden as well as a community building with a laundry. Larger houses will have their own washer and dryer.