The Dirt: East Sprague retail and apartment complex planned near new University District Gateway Bridge

A $1.4 million mixed-use project is in the works at the south landing of the University District Gateway Bridge on East Sprague Avenue.

The three- or four-story building, 430 W. Riverside, is still in the development phase with the city of Spokane, but documents show a ground floor, 1,500-square-foot retail space with nine apartment units above, for a total of 8,000 square feet.

Called the South Landing Lofts, the building will be located on East Sprague and Sherman Street, just west of the major Avista “catalyst” building on the same intersection. Eastern Washington University will be the main tenant in that $50 million, 150,000-square-foot building, and will move three degree programs and around 1,000 students from its Cheney campus when construction is complete in 2020.

The mixed-use project is being developed by Cuatro de Mayo, LLC, which is owned by Bill Grimes, an architect, and Lucy DePaolo, a counselor, who are married. They bought three parcels of land for the project in 2012 for $230,000.

The building is being designed by Uptic Studios, of Spokane.