The Dirt: Work on fire-damaged parking garage near Sacred hospital slated to start in fall

Demolition and reconstruction work will begin six months after a parking garage near Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center was severely damaged by a fire, according to permits issued by the city.

The multistory parking garage at 675 S. McClellan St. is owned by Spokane South Medical LLC and attached to a 109-room, six-story Hampton Inn & Suites, also under construction. The hotel was not damaged by the fire.

Work to repair the fire damage is estimated at $575,000, according to city data.

Construction of the hotel and garage began in February 2016. Nearly three years later, in November 2018, fire crews arrived to find a well-established fire on the third floor of the structure, where furniture and finished materials for the hotel had caught fire.

Crews were evacuated at one point and the ceiling partially collapsed.

In December, fire officials ended an investigation into the fire after being unable to determine if the building burned from arson because it was too damaged for investigators to enter safely. – N.D.

$1 million parking lot planned for Catalyst

A million-dollar parking lot will be built on East Sprague Avenue, part of Avista Corp.’s work at the south landing of the University District Gateway Bridge, according to city permits.

The lot will be attached to the Catalyst Building,

The underlying property for the parking lot was purchased by Avista in 2016 for $2 million. It most recently was assessed at $262,500 by the county.

The block at the south foot of the bridge is almost wholly owned by the energy company. From 2016 and 2018, the utility purchased 1.5 acres on the block for nearly $4.4 million.

Construction of the $50 million Catalyst Building is underway. When complete, it will house three degree programs and about 1,000 Eastern Washington University students. Both it and the adjoining four-story Hub facility, a 40,000-square-foot companion to the Catalyst that will house a central energy plant to power both buildings, are expected to be complete in early 2020. – N.D.

New warehouse building proposed for Spokane Industrial Park

Spokane-based Russell Page Architects filed a request for environmental review in April for construction of an office and warehouse structure at the Spokane Industrial Park.

The proposed building at 3808 N. Sullivan Road will be 120,000 square feet with truck access similar to other building projects within the industrial park, according to the environmental study filed with the city of Spokane Valley.

As part of the project, Fifth Street in the Spokane Industrial Park will be reconstructed from East Euclid Avenue to a railroad crossing to the north, which will include three lanes with a sidewalk on one side.

Russell Page Architects wasn’t immediately available for comment about prospective tenants for the building.

Construction is expected to be underway by summer. – A.E.