Ponderosa Village development to begin this spring in Spokane Valley

South Spokane Valley residents will soon see a mix of new retail businesses and a restaurant brought forth by a proposed multi-building development off Dishman Mica Road.
The proposed development – to be called Ponderosa Village – will feature five buildings with more than 25,000 square feet located at 11205 E. Dishman Mica Road.
The buildings will be constructed to the west and south of Barney’s Harvest Foods – a longtime community grocery store that will serve as an anchor for the development.
Each building will have 5,000 to 6,000 square feet of space to accommodate three to six tenants, said Clyde Haase of Haase Landscapes Inc., who is also the project manager and planner for Ponderosa Village.
“We have some flexibility to develop and expand the project based upon the demand of the neighborhood and tenants,” Haase said.
Rex K. Anderson of Fusion Architecture, PLLC is designing the $6 million project, which will likely be constructed in phases over the next three years.
“There’s a growing demand for not just the supermarket aspect, but there’s going to be an influx of housing in the next five to ten years in this area,” Anderson said. “There’s going to be a need for family dining and amenities.”
The buildings will be designed to integrate into the surrounding community of homes and appear similar to a village rather than a mini-mall, said Ken Tuntland, owner of Barney’s Harvest Foods.
Tuntland – with his brother Jon, and son, Mike – own two additional Harvest Foods stores in Idaho. They’ve been collaborating with Haase for about a year and a half to develop the project.
The Tuntlands acquired an additional half-acre of land formerly occupied by T&J’s Pourhouse, which was demolished last month to make way for Ponderosa Village.
Additional parking and landscaping will be added, along with a turn lane on Dishman Mica Road that will extend towards the development.
Haase said they intend for the project to be community driven and sent out more than 8,800 flyers with surveys to residents inquiring about the type of retail wanted in the development.
Surveys also were distributed in-store and online.
Tuntland said they received survey feedback from more than 350 customers.
Most survey respondents are looking for mom-and-pop type businesses such as coffee shops, dry cleaners and affordable local restaurants, Haase said.
“The neighborhood is telling us they believe in localized businesses,” Haase said. “They like the environment and they don’t want it to be a fast-food row.”
Haase said they’ve garnered interest from one national business and several local businesses wanting to relocate from Spokane to the Valley.
Barney’s Harvest Foods has an in-house True Value Hardware store, which was added in 2014 based on requests from shoppers. Ponderosa Village is also motivated by requests from those who don’t want to drive to Sprague Avenue or Sullivan Road to shop at stores, said Tuntland.
John Goforth and his wife, Sandy, have lived in the neighborhood for more than 29 years.
Goforth said he welcomes the project in the neighborhood because it will cut down on driving distance to shop for items and dine at restaurants.
Goforth hopes the development adds a clothing store or a reasonably priced restaurant.
“I think it’s an awesome idea. We can now get the same items here,” he said. “Whatever they come up with, it’s great for us. We’re excited.”
The Tuntlands in the future plan to make slight additions to Harvest Foods dependent on community needs.
“They know their customers by name and it really speaks to what they are trying to do,” said Anderson. “It’s not a stretch to say these people are passionate for the community.”
Ponderosa Village is expected to break ground in the spring.