The Dirt: SFCC plans changes to the Lodge

At the very southern end of the Spokane Falls Community College campus sits a log cabin building dubbed the Lodge. College officials submitted an application to the city of Spokane to allow a remodel of the structure.

The building previously was home to the People Accessing Careers and Education (PACE) and Supported Education Enhancing Rehabilitation (SEER) programs, which aid students with obstacles to be successful in secondary education and employment after graduation.

According to the application, the project will include the renovation of its interior, the construction of two additions to improve wheelchair accessibility and additional site work.

The Lodge project will bring college leadership together by relocating offices from leased off-campus spaces to the Lodge, according to a request for qualification and proposal document for the project.

The document, which seeks general contractors to bid on the project, said the effort consists of a complete renovation of a two-story education facility totaling approximately 19,338 square feet while preserving its log structure.

The estimated cost of the undertaking is $7 million, which is already fully funded, the documents show.

Construction is anticipated to be substantially completed by August 2026.

The permit application was submitted by Davian Clavon, capital project manager for Community Colleges of Spokane. Clavon could not immediately be reached last week for comment.

‘Black Lives Matter’ building renovation

Officials at Sunflower Bank, a Dallas-based institution, submitted an application to remodel the interior of a building in downtown Spokane that is recognized for its massive mural painted on its exterior.

Along the eastern wall of 244 W. Main Ave., a mural spells out the famous slogan and rallying cry for racial justice, “Black Lives Matter.”

Finished in July of 2020, two months after the murder of George Floyd and during the global protest that followed, the mural features 16 unique art pieces.

The effort was made possible by the building’s owners who offered the wall as a canvas. Thomas Murto and Tyler Lafferty also own Spokane-based advertising agencies 14Four and Seven2, which are both located at the building, according to their websites.

According to plans submitted to the city of Spokane, Sunflower Bank, which has 71 locations across seven states, will renovate the entirety of the interior of the building.

The estimated $349,000 project will span the street level and upper floor. The basement, which consists of storage, a mechanical room, a fitness space, locker room and small kitchen, will remain unchanged.

The street level floor will feature a reception and lobby along with a conference room, a break room, restrooms and 10 small offices. The upper mezzanine-style floor will consist of an open floor plan along with eight small offices and two executive offices with one featuring an outdoor patio.

Once complete, Sunflower Bank will have three locations in Spokane, including one across the street at 239 W. Main Ave. and another at 835 N. Post St.

A permit application for the project was submitted by Deacon Band, project manager of Construction Services Inc., a Spokane-based firm and contractor for the project.

West Hills affordable housing project

Construction is nearing for St. Agnes Family Haven, a development by Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington that will include multiple buildings and 48 units of housing.

Plans were initially submitted in March as part of the pre-development process that gives developers the opportunity to garner feedback from city building officials before applying for construction permits .

St. Agnes is planned for a site at 2834 W. Sunset Blvd., roughly a mile east of the Catalyst Project, at 4301 W. Sunset Blvd.

Now just more than two years after the Catalyst Project was opened in the West Hills neighborhood, Catholic Charities submitted an official construction application for St. Agnes, according to city of Spokane records.

Jonathan Mallahan, executive director of Catholic Housing Ventures, said in March that residents of the West Hills were hesitant of another housing project by the nonprofit.

“We initially presented St. Agnes just before we opened the Catalyst Project, so there was a lot of angst in the neighborhood,” Mallahan said, adding that some neighbors had the misconception that St. Agnes would be an emergency shelter, like Catalyst.

Instead, St. Agnes is planned to be a low-income housing operation with its residents earning less than 60% of the area’s median income, he said.

“Since Catalyst, we’ve committed to increasing how we communicate our projects and we’ve been working with the residents of the West Hills to make this project something they can be proud of,” he said in March.

St. Agnes will span about 2.5 acres, according to plans. Much of the site is currently vacant except for a building near its center where Catholic Housing Venture’s offices are located.

As part of the project, a 4,500-square-foot structure will be added onto the offices, he said.

At an estimated $8.2 million, the project earned funding from a partnership with Frontier Behavioral Health, which will have personnel working at the site. St. Agnes likely will cater to residents who may suffer from behavioral issues, according to Mallahan.

“We wanted to fund this project without using low income tax credit dollars because that funding source can restrict some people from access, like full-time students for instance,” he said. “But with the help of Frontier, this housing could be for someone on downtown streets right now struggling with behavioral illness and with professionals on-site, they can live productive lives.”

Construction is planned to be completed in the later months of 2026, Mallahan said earlier this year.

Inland Washington LLC, a Spokane-based company, has been named the contractor for the project and Spokane-based Architecture All Forms designed it.