The Dirt: Spokane County Library District advances plans for new Spokane Valley Library
The Spokane County Library District is moving forward with long-awaited plans for a new Spokane Valley Library on Sprague Avenue.
The district filed a pre-development permit application with the city of Spokane Valley to build the 27,000-square-foot library on nearly three acres of land on the northeast corner of Sprague Avenue and Herald Road, adjacent to Balfour Park.
The library – estimated to cost from $14 million to $15 million – will replace the existing Spokane Valley Library built in 1955 at 12004 E. Main Ave., according to the city’s website.
Construction on the new library is slated to begin next year.
It is part of a larger project by the city and the library district to expand Balfour Park. The expansion will integrate 5.6 acres of city-owned vacant land into the existing park.
The new library is funded with a $2 million grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce, a loan from the Washington State Treasurer’s Office and fundraising contributions. The city is contributing $1.3 million to the project.
The new library has been in the works for nearly a decade. The library district purchased the three-acre site from the city in 2013 to build a new library within five years. The district submitted a bond proposal to voters in both 2013 and 2014 but failed to obtain a 60% supermajority needed to pass.
In 2017, the city and the library district extended their agreement for the project to 2022.
The city collaborated with the district to update a conceptual plan developed in 2013. It held a public workshop last month to gather public input for park amenities that will be included in the Balfour Park expansion. Amenities under consideration include an amphitheater, turf play field, interpretive trail, splash pad, event plaza, sport courts and playground.
A crosswalk near City Hall allowing pedestrians to cross Sprague Avenue and a proposal to connect Appleway Trail to Balfour Park are also under consideration. The city will seek grant funding to support future park improvements, according to its website.
Integrus Architecture, of Spokane, is designing the new library. A project contractor was not specified in the permit application.
Crown West to break ground on logistics center
Crown West Realty could be breaking ground soon on the Barker Logistics Center in Spokane Valley.
Crown West Realty filed a pre-development application with the city to build a more than 131,000-square-foot warehouse on 11 acres of vacant land near the intersection of Barker Road and Euclid Avenue.
The warehouse is the first phase of Barker Logistics Center, a multibuilding industrial park that, when complete, will span more than 600,000 square feet on 39 acres.
Crown West Realty announced plans for the Barker Logistics Center in March.
The permit valuation for the warehouse is $7.8 million, according to the application.
HDG Architecture, of Spokane, is designing the warehouse.
Crown West Realty also owns the Spokane Business and Industrial Park at 3808 N. Sullivan Road.
Apartments planned near SFCC
A Spokane developer has filed building permits for a multifamily complex near Spokane Falls Community College.
RR7 Properties LLC, whose principal is NAI Black CEO Dave Black, filed the permit applications for two 24-unit apartment buildings at 1620 N. River Ridge Blvd.
The three-story buildings will each span more than 19,000 square feet.
The two building permits are valued at a combined $1.4 million, according to the application.
Spokane Valley-based Mercier Architecture & Planning is designing the project. Yost Gallagher Construction, of Spokane, is the project contractor.