Latah Creek Plaza Project Gains Final Approval
(From For the Record, Tuesday, August 15, 1995:) Tomlinson Black’s leasing agent for the proposed Latah Creek Plaza is Patrick Martin. Previous articles stated otherwise.
For the past two weeks, a battle has been brewing over who will develop a mini-mall in the far southwest corner of Spokane.
When the city hearing examiner approved plans Friday for Latah Creek Plaza between Cheney-Spokane Road and U.S. Highway 195, Tomlinson Black Group of Cos. won.
Tomlinson Black announced plans to build a $10 million, 130,000-square-foot strip mall two weeks ago during a crowded news conference at City Hall. Friday’s decision by hearing examiner Greg Smith reclassified the former agricultural zone into a limited community business zone and gave the Tomlinson Black proposal final approval.
Smith denied a development proposed by George and Margaret Chicha, who own property at Meadowland Road and U.S. Highway 195. The Spokane couple proposed a 16-acre mini-mall there with a bank, convenience store and home and garden center, but no tenants had entered contractual agreements with the Chichas.
Spokane-based Tomlinson Black already has lured Tidyman’s to build a 55,000-square-foot grocery to anchor the plaza. Hallmark Greeting Cards, a fast-food restaurant and other retailers have also expressed interest in building at the 130,000-square-foot Latah Creek Plaza, said Tomlinson Black attorney Jim Craven.
According to Smith’s report, Tomlinson Black’s contract with Tidyman’s was the winning move in determining whose plans were approved.
Smith added that another factor that put Tomlinson Black ahead was that its site on Cheney-Spokane Road was more “buffered” than the Chichas’ lot. The Tomlinson-Black site, hemmed by highways and a golf course, will not likely mutate into a monster mall that creates traffic hazards and land squabbles, according to the report.
“There will always be some land-use conflicts between commercial development and residential development,” Smith wrote in a 17-page memo. “This site is isolated and buffered in such a manner as to minimize those conflicts.”
The plaza will feature storefronts and driveway entrances facing Cheney-Spokane Road. Tomlinson Black, through real estate agent Patton Martin, will lease the property that is owned by farmers Jack and Frank Hisayasu.
The mall will serve residents of new subdivisions such as Cedar Road Estates and Qualchan Hills. It will have about 680 parking spaces.
A traffic study for the area concluded that mall-induced traffic will not be significant. It will be primarily “pass-by and diverted link” traffic that consists of people who are on the road anyway, “driving from one point to another and stopping at the shopping center either on their way to or from their homes,” according to Smith’s memo.
The Qualchan area is one of the fastest-growing residential zones within Spokane city limits. Since the city annexed the woodsy area near Latah Creek in 1981, developers have built extensive water and sewer lines and laid foundations for new subdivisions.
, DataTimes