The Dirt: New restaurant to replace Gordy’s Sechuan Cafe; new apartments planned near Liberty Park

A new Mexican restaurant will be opening at 501 E. 30th Ave. – the location that had long been occupied by South Hill favorite Gordy’s Sechuan Cafe, according to a remodel permit application submitted to the city of Spokane.

The new restaurant will be called Gena’s Mexican Kitchen.

In place of the long running Gordy’s, the new restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, according to owner Gena Amezcua.

“Our goal is to connect you to the heart of Mexican heritage, where every dish carries a piece of our country’s most cherished celebrations and flavors,” Amezcua said in an email.

A remodel application was submitted to expand the previous Gordy’s space eastward, combining two previously separate commercial suites.

The effort will bring the total square footage of the eatery to about 800 square feet, application documents show.

Amezcua said the atmosphere of Gena’s will be cozy and welcoming.

“The word ‘Kitchen’ reflects what our concept truly is – a space that feels like home,” she wrote in an email. “It’s inspired by the kitchens of our mothers and grandmothers, where meals are prepared daily with love, fresh ingredients and authentic flavors.”

Amezcua said her restaurant will open ahead of the effort to expand the space. A soft opening will occur this week, to get kitchen staff fully integrated.

A grand opening will follow soon after, she said.

South Hill subdivision to bring 59 housing units

Forty-seven apartment units and 12 single family homes are planned for a site immediately south of the Liberty Park Aquatic Center, according to city of Spokane records.

The development, dubbed the Hartson Apartments, will span 1.2 acres.

Referred to as a unit lot subdivision in Spokane City code, the project includes dividing the property into smaller lots, some as wide as the residential building itself.

Cities around the country have begun expanding their building codes to incentivize more unit lot subdivision projects including Spokane, which saw an ordinance signed into law at the beginning of last year to allow the projects.

At 1727 E. Hartson Ave., the Hartson Apartments project will feature a new roadway to service the single family lots, each with a footprint of less than 800 square feet.

The apartment building will have a footprint of about 8,100 square feet and be three stories tall.

Around two dozen parking spaces will service the development’s residents.

The estimated cost of construction is $1.3 million, plans show.

The property was purchased by Josh and Amy Cochran in 2022 for $450,000, according to Spokane County property records.

Josh Cochran, a Spokane-area dentist, is the founder of Cochran Capital, a Spokane-based investment firm.

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 applied for.

The plans were submitted by the contracted designer of the project, Todd Whipple, president and senior designer of Whipple Consulting Engineers, a firm based in Spokane Valley.

Whipple could not be immediately reached Thursday morning.

New clinic to cater to firefighters

Plans have been submitted to the city of Spokane calling for the remodel of space at the Rock Point West corporate buildings to create a new medical office.

The clinic will only serve active duty firefighters, their spouses and their dependents. The Emergency Responders Health Center will offer occupational health, mental health, primary and urgent care, rehabilitation, and preventative wellness, according to its website.

Planned to open in January, the project is a major expansion for the Boise-based provider which serves members from more than 30 fire, law enforcement and paramedic/EMT agencies across Idaho and in Valdez, Alaska.

At 1330 N. Washington St., the clinic will span about 5,600 square feet of the northernmost building of the Rock Point West campus.

Plans call for the buildout of a reception area, offices, exam rooms and X-ray rooms.

The estimated cost of the project is $580,000.

Plans were submitted by Julia Cygan, project manager for JPC Architects, a Bellevue-based firm that designed the project.

Spokane Valley-based Flywheel Construction is the listed contractor.