The Dirt: Crews begin work on 504-unit Magnesium Village

Construction has begun on a major apartment project in North Spokane called Magnesium Village.

Crews started grading and then pouring footers for what eventually will be 14 residential buildings and a total of 504 apartments that include everything from one-bedroom to three-bedroom units, said Jerod Harwood, project architect with Palouse-based hoist LLC.

Magnesium Village, 849 E. Magnesium Road, is being built on 26 acres around Spokane International Academy.

The site is directly south of WinCo Foods, 9257 N. Nevada St., and southeast of the Walmart Supercenter, 9212 N. Colton St.

The project is owned by East Magnesium Properties LLC, of Spokane Valley, and the complex is being built by T.W. Clark Construction, of Spokane Valley.

“We are starting on the south and working our way north,” Harwood said. “I’ve done a lot of apartments. I’m pretty proud of our unit layouts.”

Most units will feature slider doors and big decks, he said.

Each of the three-story apartment buildings will have 36 units and more than 38,000 square feet of space. The plans call for a total of 871 parking spaces, including 34 accessible parking spaces.

The project, which was estimated to cost between $36 million to $38 million, will include more than 593,000 square feet of space in total. Plans also include a 1,900-square-foot cabana, a 6,600-square-foot clubhouse and 36 carport structures.

The project’s engineer is Jay Bonnett of Jay R. Bonnett Engineering, of Spokane.

Harwood said project officials hope to have work completed sometime next year.

Crescent Building changes coming

Developers have had preliminary discussions with the city of Spokane to remodel the interior of the historic Crescent Building, 719 W. Main Ave., and convert five floors of the former retail business into 97 multifamily living units.

Current plans include retaining the exterior facade “due to its historical significance” with minor modifications if necessary and acceptable.

The permit lists Ron Wu and Bob Garrison as the applicants.

Reached by phone, Wu said he’s part of the development team for the owners, Red Tail Land Development, which is based in Irvine, California.

“We are in the really preliminary stages and we have no set schedule yet,” Wu said.

Documents submitted for a pre-development conference with the city call for remodeling five floors of the iconic home of the Crescent, which was a Spokane stalwart for decades before it closed in 1992.

The redevelopment would construct 21 units on floors three and four. It also calls for 15 living units each on floors five, six and seven.

“The project may include converting the existing unoccupied basement into a parking garage specifically for the proposed residential use with the intent to utilize the existing elevator that services all floors of the building,” the documents state.

The estimated cost of the redevelopment is listed at $10 million. Wu said he would not comment beyond what was listed in the city records and could not say when the project could begin if it is approved by planners.

Idaho Central replacing other firm’s branch building

Officials with Idaho Central Credit Union recently had a pre-development meeting to explore a proposal that would demolish an existing Wells Fargo branch and build a new branch for the Idaho credit union at 2910 E. 30th St.

The site is just south and across the street from Spokane Alpine Haus ski shop at 2925 S. Regal St.

Plans call for upgrading the architecture for the new branch, which include constructing a completely new building.

However, plans include retaining the existing drive-thru lane, according to records filed with the city of Spokane.

Ellie Thomas, an architect with Boise-based Lombard Conrad Architects, said she was not authorized to talk about the project.

However, plans call for a single-story branch with the main entryway on the southeast corner. The building would include a waiting and lobby areas, room for tellers, back storage and utilities and break areas for employees.

The estimated cost of the project would be about $6 million.