The Dirt: Griffin Tavern opening in former Brooklyn Deli location

After almost 12 years in operation, the soup and sandwich shop Brooklyn Deli closed for good in July 2023.

Since then, the space at the southwest corner of Monroe Street and First Avenue has sat vacant. But soon, the Griffin Tavern will call the street corner home.

Below the rooms of the Montvale Hotel and above the Gilded Unicorn, plans were initially submitted to remodel the space in May of last year.

The British-style pub is planned to open at 1001 W. First Ave. next month.

Plans submitted to the city of Spokane show a Spokane-based real estate investment and management firm GVD Commercial Properties submitted the remodeling permit application.

The roughly 3,900-square-foot operation will be the “most modern bar in the heart of downtown” with “a space designed to bring people together,” according to its website.

Plans show the tavern will include a bar with seating, a private dining area and seven six-person booths.

Ruby Hospitality will operate the restaurant, according to Spokesman-Review reports. The company also operates the Steam Plant Restaurant and Brew pub and The Gilded Unicorn.

Mauer Construction is the contractor, and the architect is Jerod Harwood of HOIST LLC, according to plans.

The remodel project was projected to cost about $80,000, plans show.

Latah Valley project proceeds

For years, developer William Nascimento has looked to develop the vacant plot of land, at 1925 W. 36th Ave., into a manufactured home subdivision called the Latah Glen Residential Community.

Manufactured houses are pre-built and placed on a lot.

Some 157 homes are planned for the project, but progress has been halted by building moratoriums put in place to allow officials to update infrastructure to the area, according to Spokesman-Review reports.

The development would encompass roughly 40 acres just west of the intersection of U.S. Highway 195 and South Cheney Spokane Road.

Nascimento, a founder of Lague Canyon Group, a commercial real estate firm based in Irvine, California, worked on the project as far back as 2019.

In October of last year, Nascimento submitted an application to build a shared clubhouse for the community’s residents. According to city of Spokane records, the application review process has been halted because of details regarding the infrastructure to the development and the clubhouse.

If approved by the City, the structure will be one story tall, roughly 1,700 square feet and cost about $800,000 to construct, plans show.

“At the heart of the community will be the contemporary clubhouse, whose development will represent a significant milestone in realizing the ultimate project’s vision,” Nascimento wrote in an October email.

Despite permits being stalled for the building, the developer submitted a new set of plans for an additional structure, this being a garage and storage building to serve the clubhouse, city of Spokane records show.

“Our team continues to diligently advance the development of Latah Glen, a thoughtfully planned land-lease community designed to provide homebuyers with affordable ownership opportunities,” Nascimento said in the email.

All 157 homes would be leasable by tenants at an affordable rate, meaning the sum of rent and utility costs do not exceed 30% of the area’s average household income, according to city records.

No contractor is named in construction documents.

Post Falls-based ML Architect designed the project.

Nascimento could not be reached last week.

Five Mile Prairie subdivision

Developers are looking to turn a residential lot in the Five Mile Prairie neighborhood into 11 separate properties, according to plans submitted to the city of Spokane.

At 2120 W. Strong Road, the property is roughly 1.62 acres but will be divided into lots ranging from a .1 to .2 of an acre in size.

A small access road is also planned for the project.

The effort is in the pre-development phase of design, where developers submit plans to city of Spokane building officials to garner feedback before official construction permits are applied for.

UNI Development, based in Greenacres, is behind the project.

Aaron Nolting, owner of UNI, could not be reached last week.