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

The Dirt: MUV Fitness plans new gym on 37th Avenue

MUV Fitness has plans to open a new gym inside a former Albertsons store on 37th Avenue on Spokane’s South Hill.

The grocery chain announced the closure of the store, located at the intersection of 37th Avenue and Grand Boulevard, in 2017 because what it called a lack of sales.

The proposed move by MUV was confirmed by a MUV employee and Chris Bell, managing broker at NAI Black.

Bell wasn’t sure how soon MUV can open but said the company is busy trying to convert the former grocery store into a gym.

The move comes after the gym closed its downtown location at the end of October.

Owner Jeff Carlson said at the time that he made the decision to close the 20,000-square-foot gym at 808 W. Main Ave., Suite 200, because of dwindling membership.

MUV also operates three other Spokane-area locations: 603 E. Holland Ave. and 5501 S. Regal St. in Spokane and 14927 E. Sprague Ave. in Spokane Valley.

Iron Bridge permit filed

A building permit request was filed last week with the city of Spokane seeking to start building a four-story, 102,450-square-foot multifamily development on a site overlooking the Spokane River in the University District.

The project, called “Iron Bridge” apartments is part of a joint venture between Spectrum Development Solutions and real estate investment firm Pinnacle Partners. Plans call for the construction on a 5-acre site at 811 N. Iron Bridge Way.

The project, with a listed valuation of $25 million, will have a mix of 160 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units. Plans also call for a half-size basketball court, fitness center and club room. The site also provides access to the Centennial Trail.

Spectrum Development Solutions said in a news release last year it has been looking for the right opportunity in Spokane for more than a decade to bring “much needed quality apartment and student housing to the market.”

“This is a terrific opportunity for us to deliver our brand of housing to serve students, health care workers, and young professionals,” Jhomar Small, associate principal at Spectrum Development Solutions, said in the statement last July. “Our collaborative partnership with Pinnacle and the City of Spokane has been instrumental in this project’s success so far.”

Spectrum Development Solutions and Pinnacle Partners declined to disclose the cost for Iron Bridge Residences. However, a pre-development application for the project filed with the city in April indicates an estimated project cost of $25 million.

Efforts to reach Small this week were unsuccessful. But he said last year that he hoped to start construction this spring.

The lead architect on the project is Seattle-based Mithun in collaboration with ZBA Architecture of Spokane.

The project is located within an Opportunity Zone as well as Spokane’s Multifamily Tax Exemption Zone.

An Opportunity Zone is an investment program created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that provides investors with tax incentives for developments in designated areas.

Mercer expansion moves forward

Mercer International Inc., which purchased the former Katerra plant in 2021, is seeking approval for a building permit with Spokane Valley to build an addition to its cross-laminated timber production facility.

Spokane-based Press Architecture LLC filed the permit on Jan. 27 with the city on behalf of Mercer International to build an 10,415-square-foot addition to the company’s existing plant that spans more than 250,000 square feet at 19202 E. Garland Ave.

About 10,000 square feet of the addition will be dedicated to a new planer mill, which will include cross-laminated timber wall and roof panels, on the south end of Mercer International’s plant.

Mercer International is a publicly traded forest products company with offices in the U.S., Canada and Germany. The company, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, purchased the former Katerra plant for $50 million in 2021.

The facility, located on 54 acres in Spokane Valley’s northeast industrial area, is capable of producing more than 140,000 cubic meters of cross-laminated timber per year.

Cross-laminated timber is made by compressing and gluing together lumber boards to form structural panels and beams. The building material offers a low-carbon footprint that is reportedly resistant to fire and is easy to install.