Big plans for former Glen Dow building in downtown Spokane

A speakeasy, restaurant, bowling lanes and apartments are planned for the closed beauty school in downtown Spokane, according to plans submitted to the city of Spokane.

The Glen Dow Academy had been a staple institution in Spokane for over half a century before closing in March of last year.

Prior to closing, the school, at 311 W. Riverside Ave., was operated by Jennifer Von Doehren, the daughter of founder Glen Dow. She took over for her brother Martin Dow, who died in 2016.

Von Doehren told The Spokesman-Review last year that she never planned on taking over but operated the school for eight years before deciding to sell. However, she struggled to sell it as a school.

“The requirements for someone to get an accredited trade school are large. The accreditation process for a new buyer … those hurdles are pretty daunting today,” she said last year.

The former Glen Dow property includes the parking lot at the southwest corner of Riverside Avenue and Bernard Street, a large brick building immediately to its west and a smaller, conjoined two-story building, which features a decorative white and red facade.

Darren Capaul, Michael Zandt and Justin Paine bought the property in February for $1.55 million, according to Spokane County property records.

Submitted plans call for converting the third floor into apartments. The first and second floors will become a restaurant and the basement could become a speakeasy and cigar lounge, plans show.

The $3 million project includes constructing a 1,400-square-foot deck for restaurant seating on the east wall of the building that will hang over the parking lot.

The third floor will offer 10 units of housing and a rooftop deck.

The second floor restaurant will feature a dining room, bar area, game rooms and lanes for duckpin bowling which is a more simplified variation of traditional bowling.

The first floor will offer a mezzanine with seating for 40 people, ping pong, darts, foosball, air hockey and pinball machines.

The street level portion of the first floor will feature more game rooms, a dining room and a bar.

The basement will be used for storage and offer game rooms including bocce ball, a bar, a dining room and a cigar lounge, plans show.

The plans were submitted as part of the pre-development process where developers may send their plans to the city to receive feedback from officials before an official construction permit application is submitted.

Cameron Golightly, of Spokane-based Studio-Plus Architects, submitted the plans. He said the project is too early in its design phases to discuss .

“I talked to the owner and they want me to wait to talk about this, until they confirm this is their approach,” Golightly said.

Touchmark on South Hill plans remodel

To meet increasing demand for assisted living and early memory care services, officials of Touchmark on South Hill are planning to add 41 units of assisted living units to its community, according to plans submitted to the city of Spokane.

At 2929 S. Waterford Drive, the community is owned and operated by Touchmark Senior Living, which develops, owns and operates full-service retirement communities in 10 states and Alberta.

Allison Burum, spokeswoman for the company, said the $5.7 million project will replace the skilled nursing facility located on the second floor of the building.

“Touchmark decided to discontinue skilled nursing services which is basically short-term rehab where residents come in for a few weeks at a time, like after surgery for instance,” she said. “They are forecasting where the greatest need is to get the most functional use of that space.”

The remodel will help bridge the gap between memory care and assisted living by offering living quarters for those experiencing the early stages of memory loss and who require higher levels of support, Burum said.

“If you look across the industry, this really isn’t anything new,” she said. “In fact, Touchmark has made similar transitions at a lot of their locations across the country.”

Of Touchmark on South Hill’s 340 residents, 3% required the services of the skilled nursing facility, which shows that most of those who utilized the services were short-term residents, Burum said.

The project is set to begin in July and be completed by next year, she said.

Touchmark hired Shearer Construction of Battle Ground as its builder. Spokane-based NAC Architecture designed the project, plans shows.

Spokane airport plans $12M project

Early this month, officials at Spokane International Airport submitted a construction application to the city of Spokane for a 500,000 jet fuel storage tank, according to city records.

Additionally, the project will upgrade automated gauging to all fuel tanks already on the property at 9000 W. Airport Drive.

The current fuel tanks are 25 years old and have a combined capacity of 750,000 gallons, according to Alannah Toft, marketing and communications manager for the airport.

“In the time since, the size of aircraft used for passenger and cargo operations has increased” and the number of passengers boarding aircraft have more than doubled, she said.

“While airlines are responsible for coordinating and funding their own fueling operations, the airport-owned facility ensures airline and cargo partners have adequate fuel inventory to sustain their modern-day operations.”

The estimated cost of the project is $12 million, according to application documents.