The Dirt: Spokane County planning new crisis relief center

Spokane County commissioners voted in May 2024 to spend $5.2 million to expand addiction and behavioral services at a Spokane treatment facility. Last week, plans were submitted to the city of Spokane to start that project.

The Spokane Regional Stabilization Center, located immediately west of the Spokane Transit Authority bus depot and corporate office building, will be the site of an $11.5 million undertaking.

Located at 1302 W. Gardner Ave., the stabilization center was opened in 2021 to provide immediate support and intervention for individuals experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis. It offers an alternative to emergency rooms or detention. In 2023, the facility served 1,563 people, according to previous reporting by The Spokesman-Review.

Plans recently submitted to the city call for an addition to the building.

A 17,000-square-foot structure will house a new crisis relief center, according to plans.

Unlike a stabilization center, which focuses on providing immediate services, a crisis relief center offers a broader range of services and includes a more long-term approach.

The building addition will be connected to the northern portion of the current center, where a parking lot currently is located.

The facility will feature a new lobby that will function as the main entrance for both operations. Near the lobby, builders would add multiple intake and consultation rooms, a patient lounge and a secured garage for emergency vehicles.

The two buildings will come together to create a new 1,700-square-foot courtyard.

Other additions include conference rooms, locker rooms and a lounge-and-dining area.

But much of the addition will consist of an area which features a large open space for patients and observation offices for staff tasked with monitoring them.

The undertaking is estimated to cost $11.5 million, according to plans.

The initial $5.2 million approved by county commissioners was made available from initial disbursements of money won from state lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

The current plans were submitted as part of the predevelopment process, which gives developers the opportunity to garner feedback from city building officials before construction permits are sought.

Plans for the new facility were submitted by Michael Sparber, director of law and justice for the county, who could not immediately be reached last week.

The project was designed by Spokane-based architectural firm Bernardo Wills, plans show.

Imaging center planned

Inland Imaging is planning to revamp one of its locations into a breast-cancer imaging center near the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center campus, according to plans submitted to the city of Spokane.

Inland Imaging has seven Spokane locations and one location in the Tri-Cities, according to its website.

Dubbed the Inland Imaging Regional Breast Center, the project is estimated to cost $4.5 million and would remodel the bottom two floors of its three-story building at 801 S. Stevens St.

The roughly 6,800-square-foot building will soon include a large waiting and lobby area, an MRI area, numerous dressing rooms, multiple mammogram screening rooms, a bone density screening room, biopsy rooms, multiple nurse stations and a staff break room.

Developers are hoping to begin work this fall, according to plans.

Plans were submitted by Adam Rouns, architect for Seattle-based NAC Architecture.

Rouns said last week that he could not discuss the project.

Administrators for Inland Imaging could not immediately be reached last week.

Apartment opens on South Hill

Avenue 29 Apartments, a newly constructed 21-unit building, is now open on the South Hill, according to a news release.

Located northeast of the intersection of 29th Avenue and Grand Boulevard, the property features a mix of studio and one-bedroom units.

According to Spokane property records, the property at 717 E. 29th Ave. is owned by Jordan Piscopo, a local real estate agent.

Piscopo is the sole owner of the corporation that owns the property, Avenue 29 LLC.

“We always envisioned this project as a gateway for moving into this part of town” Ross Blevins, a member of Avenue29, LLC, said in a news release. “We are excited to further strengthen the community with a diverse array of folks who will call Avenue29 home.”

According to construction permit application documents for the project, the building cost an estimated $2 million.

Spokane-based Yost Gallagher Construction built the apartments, which were designed by Spokane-based Olson Projects.