Washington State Employees Credit Union is moving forward with plans for a new branch at the former Aces Casino site in north Spokane.

The credit union filed a building permit application with the city to construct a 4,400-square-foot branch with two drive-thru lanes and a drive-up ATM at 6301 N. Division St.

The branch is the first phase of development for the project, which also calls for construction of one to two retail buildings spanning a total of 14,000 square feet, according to a preliminary application for the project.

The project contractor is Spokane-based Yost Gallagher Construction. Bernardo|Wills Architects, of Spokane, is designing the project.

The building permit valuation is $1.6 million, according to the application.

Property owner Bluebird Investments LLC in 2018 had considered an option to build a Circle K gas station on the 1.8-acre site, but plans did not proceed past a predevelopment conference with the city.

Aces Casino had occupied a building on the site since 2005. The building was demolished in 2019 after Aces Casino relocated to Spokane Valley.

WSECU, founded in 1957, has 21 branches, 270,000 members and more than $3 billion in assets. It has two branches in the Spokane area and a branch in Medical Lake.

Townhome project weighed in Cheney

A 5-acre vacant plot of land on the southwest corner of Aero and Fruitvale roads in Cheney will soon be transformed into a 73-unit townhome development.

Spokane Valley-based Whipple Consulting Engineers and Pence Properties Cheney LLC applied for building permits with Spokane County to construct six, two-story townhomes totaling more than 84,880 square feet at 7320 S. Fruitvale Road.

A grading permit for the project is also under review by the county’s building and planning department.

The townhome development also calls for 167 parking spaces as well as construction of private driveways, sidewalks and stormwater evaporation ponds, according to an environmental review for the project.

The building permit valuation is more than $9.2 million, according to the applications.

Pence Properties Cheney LLC purchased the property for $625,000 in 2018, according to the Spokane County Assessor’s Office.

Apartments coming to east Spokane

A new apartment complex could be coming to east Spokane, according to a preliminary application filed with the city.

Spokane-based Trek Architecture filed the application on behalf of property owner Liberty Project LLC to build a three-story apartment complex totaling more than 19,000 square feet at 3001 and 3011 E. Liberty Ave.

Construction on the $2 million project is slated to begin in the summer, according to site plans.

Liberty Project LLC, whose principal is Jordan Tampien of Spokane-based 4 Degrees Real Estate, purchased the property for $522,500 in 2019, according to the Spokane County Assessor’s Office.

The purchase also included the site of Barnwood Social Kitchen & Tavern, which opened earlier this month and is co-owned by Tampien and local restaurateur Matt Goodwin.

Coffee stand, warehouse in works in Hillyard

Chattaroy-based JT Queen LLC filed two building permit applications with the city to construct a 1,920-square-foot warehouse, 240-square-foot office and a 365-square-foot drive-thru coffee stand at 3604 E. Queen Ave. in Hillyard.

The project contractor has not yet been determined. The project valuation is $165,000, according to the application.

Target to make cafe into grocery pickup storage

Target in Northpointe Plaza is converting an existing in-store café into grocery pickup storage, according to a building permit application filed with the city.

The store at 9770 N. Newport Highway will be adding new walls, fixtures, refrigerated cases and shelving in the 1,097-square-foot space to make way for grocery pickup storage.

Arkansas-based architect L. Brown Pendleton is designing the project.