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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The Dirt: New Hope House shelter for women to be built

By Nicholas Deshais and Amy Edelen The Spokesman-Review

Permits have been issued for the new Hope House shelter for homeless women on the west end of downtown Spokane.

The four-story, 57,000-square-foot building at 1301 W. Third Ave. will replace the existing structure, a former diner and Thai food restaurant that has been vacant for a year and a half.

When complete, the building will include a ground-floor homeless shelter with 120 beds exclusively for women. Its upper floors will contain 60 studio apartments for recently homeless women. The building also will have classroom space, meeting rooms, offices for case managers and a full kitchen to cook meals for those in the shelter. The apartments will have their own kitchens.

The building is projected to cost $7 million to build, according to documents filed with the city.

The Hope House shelter is a project of the Volunteers of America Eastern Washington & Northern Idaho. The new shelter was made possible with a $1 million grant from Premera Blue Cross, the Washington-based health insurer. The project was supported with $500,000 awarded by the state Legislature in its capital budget. That funding led to an additional $600,000 in private donations.

In order to reach full capacity, the organization needs about $250,000 to $300,000 from the city, which equates to about 12% of its funding. The shelter will be closed at the existing Hope House and converted to transitional housing when the new location opens.

Though its identity is about to change, the corner of Third and Adams Street has a long history of serving food to travelers.

In 1926, a 4-foot-by-10-foot vegetable stand was built in front of an existing house on the lot to serve motorists on U.S. Highway 10, or the Sunset Highway, which opened in 1915 and ran right in front of the house on Third.

In 1933, Floyd Cady bought the stand for $100 and converted it into a hamburger and coffee restaurant. He called it the Shack. As Cady’s restaurant grew in popularity, so did the structures that housed it. The house was used to prepare food and was soon enveloped by the growing Shack. The roof of the old house still peaks above the center of the restaurant.

In 1949, the Shanty Room Lounge was opened, and the Spokane Daily Chronicle said the Shack “has grown into one of the outstanding restaurants of Spokane.”

By 1988, the Shack was written up in The Spokesman-Review as one of three legendary restaurants still operating in town, along with Casey’s and Travo’s. And it was still serving food it had been for decades: daily roasted whole turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy; pan-fried oysters; Salisbury steak; and liver and onions.

In 2003, the Shack closed its doors and the building became Linnie’s Thai Cuisine. In 2018, the restaurant moved farther west on the Sunset Highway, near Airway Heights. Some of the red “leather” booths are now in Neato Burrito and the Baby Bar in downtown Spokane.

The Hope House project’s contractor is Inland Washington LLC. Chris Weiland at Spokane’s Architecture All Forms designed it. – N.D.

The Academy’s transformation to student rentals is complete

The Academy, a residential building near Gonzaga University that used to be a senior assisted-living facility, is seeking applications for student rental units available in August 2020.

The elderly residents of the 90 units were evicted more than a year ago following the building’s sale to Utah-based Stellar Living, a family-owned and -operated company that provides independent and assisted living as well as respite services at eight facilities in Western Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Utah and Arizona.

Stellar Living purchased the building for $4.7 million in November 2018, according to county property records. Since then, the company has done a major renovation to the building, and its “revitalized apartments display modern design and thoughtful craftsmanship, while still preserving the historic character of the striking Victorian-style building,” according to its website.

The building has studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments that include “plank flooring, white quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances.”

According to Greystar.com, rents will be about $960.

Now, instead of catering to seniors, the building is “the perfect option for students, as well as those who simply love being close to the cultural core of Spokane.”

The building was constructed in 1891 and served as a private school for young women called the Holy Names Academy.

By 1902, the school had more than 235 students, and five years later it became one of the state’s first private schools to offer a high school curriculum and teacher training courses for young women.

In 1938, the school began offering a four-year bachelor’s degree in education, and Holy Names College was built next door in 1941. Holy Names Academy closed in 1975 as the school faced dwindling enrollment numbers and expensive maintenance. In its more than 80 years of operation, about 5,000 students attended the school.

When Stellar purchased the building and evicted its residents, Adam Benton, the company’s senior vice president, said the company had looked at options to keep residents in the building but it wasn’t possible because of the extensive renovations required to get the building up to code.

“To bring The Academy to a nicely renovated building would be incredibly disruptive to the residents,” he said in 2018. “We had to weigh that with the comfort and safety of residents. There was no way to keep services going while anybody was living in the building.” – N.D.

Ramen restaurant planned

for North Sullivan

A new ramen restaurant is coming Spokane Valley.

Yoko Pan has filed a building permit with the city to remodel a 1,407-square-foot suite at 509 N. Sullivan Road. The restaurant will be called Kokoro Ramen.

When reached by phone, Pan declined to comment on specifics about the restaurant.

A floor plan for the proposed restaurant shows five tables and a counter bar with additional seating.

The total valuation of the remodel is $60,000. The project contractor is Joe Rasmussen. The building owner is Spokane Valley-based Pring Corp. – A.E.

New senior-living community coming to Spokane Valley

Spokane-based Inland Group has filed preliminary plans with Spokane Valley to build a senior-living community east of CenterPlace Regional Event Center.

Inland Group is planning to build Affinity at Mirabeau Point, a 180,000-square-foot development that will include 170 units, a pool, garages and parking on a 6-acre site, according to a preliminary application filed with the city.

Centennial Properties, a subsidiary of Cowles Co., which publishes The Spokesman-Review, is the property owner, according to the Spokane County Assessor’s Office.

The senior-living community will be built southeast of a Tru by Hilton hotel that broke ground this week and is slated for completion in fall 2020.

Inland Group, founded in 1973, specializes in development and construction of high-density residential and commercial projects. – A.E.

Maverik to add another Spokane Valley store

Maverik Inc. is continuing its expansion in the area with plans to build a convenience store and gas station across the street from the Black Pearl Poker Room & Casino in Spokane Valley.

The Salt Lake City-based company filed a preliminary application with the city to build a more than 5,600-square-foot convenience store and gas station at 2020 N. Pines Road.

Spokane Valley-based Pines Properties LLC is the property owner.

Maverik was founded in 1928 by Reuel Call, who used money earned from renting roller skates to open a two-pump gas station in Afton, Wyoming. The company has since grown to more than 315 convenience stores in 10 Western states with more than 5,000 employees.

Maverik – in addition to its three Spokane Valley convenience stores – has locations in the Spokane area, one in Cheney and one in Post Falls. – A.E.

Contact Nicholas Deshais at (509) 459-5440 or nickd@spokesman.com.

Amy Edelen may be reached at (509) 459-5581 or amye@spokesman.com.