Permits issued for crisis nursery’s new building on Sprague

Permits for $8 million in construction for the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery on East Sprague Avenue have been issued by the city.

The permits encompass most work for the construction of the 32,000-square-foot, 40-foot-tall building at 2230 E. Sprague Ave. The structure’s foundation was laid this fall.

When complete, the building will house the crisis nursery, which provides 24-hour emergency care for children up to 6 years old and is a safe shelter for kids who are in crisis situations stemming from families dealing with substance abuse, domestic violence or homelessness.

The new location will help the nonprofit increase its services to those children.

The property is on the eastern edge of the Sprague revitalization project, which has seen continued private investment since the city started targeting public dollars there. The lot was the site of a Safeway built in 1966. The Safeway was designed by architect Kenneth Storment, who also designed the Bon Marche building in downtown Spokane, now called The M, as well as a number of other Safeway stores in the region.

After the grocery store closed, the building was used as a Spokane Youth Sports Association bingo hall for more than 25 years. SYSA Bingo moved out in February 2016. The building sat empty until its demolition earlier this year.

Vanessa Behan bought the building in October 2017 for $1.3 million.

The project’s general contractor is Bouten Construction, of Spokane. It was designed by NAC Architecture.