Here’s the Dirt: Park Board exercises YMCA option

The Spokane Park Board plans to follow through on its plan to purchase the YMCA property at Riverfront Park.

The board will transfer $850,000 from its capital fund to make the final deposit on the $5.3 million complex, said board President Frank Knott. The payment follows an initial $150,000 deposit.

“Yes we are going to buy it, yes we have the money,” said Knott, adding that the parks department has heard from many residents who support the city exercising its contracted option to purchase the land.

If the deal reaches its final phase, within two years, voters would be asked to either support a bond funding the purchase or to give the city permission to resell the property, Knott said.

The city exercised its right to buy the land after a developer, Mark Pinch, made an offer in hopes of building a 14-story condominium tower on the site.

YMCA and YWCA plan to raise $25 million for an expanded joint campus and for a YMCA branch planned in north Spokane. YWCA is in the midst of selling its property, on the opposite side of the river, to another developer.

The purchase agreement affords the time for the YMCA to stay in the facility during the fund-raising campaign, but contains a clause enabling the non-profit to opt out of the sale (and give the city a full refund) if the plans change. Knott said if the YMCA were to stay there, it would still be a win for the city.

If voters approve funding, Knott said the building would be kept intact for public use. That would include the swimming pool, which would help offset the upcoming closure of the Shadle Park High School pool.

Rig Riggins, president of YMCA, said the sale appears to be moving forward and he expects to receive the final down-payment from the parks department by the end of February.

Permitting gets easier

Spokane is preparing to roll out a new $3 million computer system that will make obtaining and tracking building permits easier.

When Accela Automation 6.3 is operational, it will allow homeowners and contractors doing projects that don’t require plan review to apply, pay for and obtain building permits online. Those with larger projects will be able to track the progress of their application via computer.

“Certainly we’re excited about this project and want to get the word out to anyone who wants to listen,” said Joe Wizner, director of the building department.

Projects that lend themselves to online permitting include re-roofing houses, replacing furnaces and hot water tanks and the installation of some minor plumbing and electrical fixtures and other lesser remodels, Wizner said.

“I think the sub-contractors are really going to like this.”

Although the program could take months to fully implement, Wizner said it will dramatically improve efficiency for the building department, which issued 16,709 permits in 2006.

The first category to come online will be plumbing permits, which could be offered as soon as mid-February, he said.

Accela Automation elevates permitting from the Dark Ages, where people with full-time jobs had to cram downtown trips into City Hall hours, to the modern era where access is a keyboard away.

In further efforts to improve efficiency, building inspectors will be armed with laptops and issue on-site reports.

The computer system will eventually integrate all departments, replacing a 13-year-old program with limited capability and improving interdepartmental collaborations, Wizner said.

Permit and plan review fees will help fund the department’s portion of the $3 million outlay.

Walgreens heads south

Walgreen Co. plans to build a 14,800 square-foot store on the northwest corner of 29th Avenue and Grand Boulevard.

“We’re really excited about that location,” said Carol Hively, corporate spokeswoman for Walgreen Co.

The Walgreens will be built on a corner that currently has an aging professional building and several houses. The 24-hour store will open before Thanksgiving and replace a small express store at 13th and Grand, she said.

Spokane was a test market for the small express stores, which offered limited merchandise and drive-thru prescription services. Over the past couple of years, the company replaced most express stores with full-sized stores. Hively said this is the last express store in Spokane to be replaced.

The new location will put Walgreens into an area dominated by Rite Aid. Rite Aid has stores at Manito and Lincoln Heights shopping centers and on south Regal Street.

Selkirk Development is developing the property, which Walgreens will lease.