The Dirt: Developers planning $42 million nursing home

The owners of Riverview Retirement Community, located just east of the Avista Corp. headquarters in the Logan neighborhood, are planning to demolish and replace a nursing home on the property, according to plans submitted to the city of Spokane.

At 1841 Upriver Dr., the nursing home encompasses just a portion of the Riverview property that spans roughly 23 acres along the Spokane River. The single-story 50,000 square foot building was built in 1966, according to Spokane County property records.

In its place will stand a 4-story independent living facility totaling roughly 155,000 square feet, plans show.

Its first floor will include an auditorium, 20 offices, a gym, a board room, a classroom, a salon, rooms for massage therapy, a reception and lobby area, laundry rooms, common areas for games, a kitchen, a bar, a dining room with seating for roughly 100 residents, bathrooms, and four units of housing.

The upper floors will each consist of 26 independent living units for residents, according to plans.

The project is to add covered walkways connecting existing buildings to the new facility. The Riverview Terrace Garden Assisted Living Facility, Veranda Memory Care, and Aquatics & Fitness Center will be connected with walkways.

A parking lot with 50 spaces will be paved, plans show.

The project is estimated to cost $42 million, according to plans. Bellevue-based Wattenbarger Architecture designed the project.

James Brown, president of Wattenbarger, deferred to Riverview leadership to speak on the project because the project is still in early design phases.

Warehouses planned near airport

Plans have been submitted to the city of Spokane to build eight warehouses near the Spokane International Airport.

The estimated $2.3 million project is planned for an unassigned property along U.S. Highway 2, immediately east of Garage Lodge, a self-storage complex.

Christ Bornhoft, developer of the warehouse project, owns Garage Lodge.

He purchased the property next door for the Flight Drive Warehouses in 2021 for $280,000, and intended it to be the site for a second phase buildout for the storage operation.

“The demand for ‘industrial condominiums’ is soft right now,” Bornhoft said. “We’ve been sitting on the dirt for a while and it seems there isn’t much competition right now for ware space of this scale.”

Contrary to a typical warehouse available for lease, the Flight Drive Warehouses are smaller and completely finished, according to Bornhoft.

Each warehouse will be approximately 2,400 square feet, and include a finished office and bathroom, will be accessible for trucks and offer a backyard, plans show.

“A warehouse could be used for brewing beer, storage for the auto industry, roasting coffee or really anything – think of it as an apartment for business,” he said. “Units will be turnkey, meaning they are ready to go the day a lease is signed.”

Bornhoft is excited about the growth of the West Plains, he said. Since finishing another development in the area, the 36-unit Fairway Apartments in Cheney, he remains committed to contributing to its development.

“We bought the lot some time ago but we are interested in developing it for the same reasons,” he said. “The west plains is booming right now and has become way more business friendly over the last 10 years – I mean, traffic is as busy as Division.”

Bornhoft is unsure of the construction timeline for the Flight Drive Warehouses project, as it is still early in design phases. Best case scenario is that the project could be completed by the summer of next year, he said.

Fusion Architecture, based in Spokane, designed the project.

Three-story apartments planned for Hillyard area

Four buildings are part of a project to build apartments just southwest of the intersection of Francis Avenue and U.S. Highway 395, City of Spokane records show.

According to plans submitted to the city, each building will be constructed with a townhouse style layout. The street level floor will offer a two car garage, the second floor will have a kitchen and living room, and the top floor will have two bedrooms and a bathroom, plans show.

At 6019 N. Lacey St., the project will offer eight total units.

The property was purchased by Kevin Finnerty in 2023 for $140,000, according to plans.