The Dirt: Childcare provider to expand downtown Spokane location; Davenport Grand remodeling restaurant

Since opening in 2020, Glow Children Early Learning Center has seen demand grow for its services for infants and children up to 12 years old.

So the nonprofit has submitted a remodel construction application to the city of Spokane to nearly double its current space at 720 W. Riverside Ave., just west of the Ridler Piano Bar.

Glow’s typical clientele does not only include parents who are downtown workers but parents from different areas of town and backgrounds. That includes teen parents attending Lumen High School, which helps teen parents access an education.

Initially intended to serve their toddler-age children, the expansion will instead be used by their school-age students running from 5 to 12 years old, according to Jessica Robb, program director.

“The Spokane area has numerous school districts and their calendars don’t align,” she said. “And as many of them are shifting to a shorter summer break during the school year, working families need a facility for those extra days off.”

Robb is referring to a recent move from Spokane Public Schools and Central Valley Schools to feature a more “balanced calendar,” by offering more frequent breaks during the school year and shrinking the summer break to give staff and students time to recharge.

The expansion project includes revamping about 2,000 square feet of space sandwiched by Glow to the east, and Bistango Martini Lounge to the north.

Additional work will include making an archway to merge the two child care spaces and updating the staff lounge that sits on the second floor, according to Grace Hemminger, assistant program director.

The provider is also a diaper bank, offers free formula and wipes, orchestrates family engagement events and performs community outreach efforts, Hemminger said.

With recently expanded hours, Glow offers childcare for families in many different situations, Robb said.

“We’re seeing a lot of families needing to drop their kids off for a short time while they look for work,” she said. “With the recent budget cuts and things of that sort, our enrollment can fluctuate with the economy so right now families are needing us to be there for them and the school-age program is a big one.”

Hemminger estimated work to the new space will be completed by the end of the year and will be opened during winter break.

The cost of the project is around $150,000, according to the permit application.

Glow hired Spokane firms TREK Architecture, to design the project, and TERRABELLA, Inc., to build it.

Davenport Grand to revamp restaurant

A remodel-construction permit application has been submitted to the city of Spokane for Table 13, a restaurant space currently located on the Washington Street-facing side of the Davenport Grand Hotel.

According to the application, the project will be a complete reformatting of the current restaurant.

When complete, the space will feature a 500-square-foot circular bar in the center, 2,855 square feet for dining space and 730 square feet for the entry and waiting areas.

Seating will be provided for 29 customers at the bar, 48 table seats, 56 booth seats and about 30 bench seats.

Restrooms will also be updated, plans show.

The estimated cost of the effort is $600,000, according to the application.

Plans were submitted by Davidson Hospitality, a company based in Atlanta, which did not immediately return a call last week.

Perkins Eastman, an architectural firm based in Seattle, designed the project.

Spokane church plans storefront remake

Orchard Christian Fellowship, which has a South Hill-based congregation, submitted plans to renovate a storefront previously occupied by Complete Suite Furniture, according to city of Spokane records.

The project at 1219 N. Division St. consists of revamping the building and turning it into a new assembly location, plans show.

Orchard, which operates from its primary location at 312 E. Third Ave., plans remodel efforts to the building’s street level and basement floors totaling roughly 10,000 square feet.

Once complete, the building will consist of 4,200 square feet of assembly space, 2,700 square feet of business space, bathrooms and storage areas.

Orchard hired Fusion Architecture, a Spokane-based firm, to design the project.

The estimated cost of construction is $1 million, plans show.