The Dirt: Spokane Valley Fire Department building new vehicle maintenance shop; speak-easy coming to downtown Spokane

The Spokane Valley Fire Department is moving forward with plans to build a new vehicle maintenance facility in the city’s northeast industrial area.

The department filed a pre-development application with the city to build the 14,400-square-foot facility on 8 acres of vacant land at 18705 E. Garland Ave.

Site plans show the location is capable of accommodating a future fire station, storage buildings and a training facility with a road course.

The maintenance building would include areas for vehicle storage, repair, offices and tools and parts, according to the application.

The department indicated the project will be designed to have five extended drive-thru bays to accommodate longer tiller trucks, according to a 2019 letter to the Washington state Department of Enterprise Services’ project review committee.

Bernardo|Wills Architects, of Spokane, is designing the facility. Spokane Valley-based T.W. Clark Construction is the project contractor.

The project cost is estimated to be $4.2 million, according to the application.

The new facility would replace the department’s current maintenance facility, which was built in 1993 at 2411 N. Pioneer Lane. The department indicated it has outgrown its existing facility, prompting plans to construct a larger maintenance building to meet vehicle service needs for the next 20 to 25 years.

The project is funded by a $113 million maintenance and operations levy approved by voters in 2019. The levy also funds firefighter salaries, operating expenses, maintenance, equipment and other capital projects, including a new fire station and remodel of an existing station.

Restaurant, bar set for downtown

A new speak-easy-style bar and restaurant is coming to downtown Spokane.

Wall Project LLC, whose principals are Jordan and Joel Tampien, filed a permit application to convert the basement and first floor of a building at 120 N. Wall St. into 3,470-square-foot restaurant and bar.

The Tampien brothers are owners of 4 Degrees Real Estate.

The project contractor is Spokane Valley-based T.W. Clark Construction. Trek Architecture, of Spokane, is designing the project. The renovation cost is an estimated at $100,000, according to the application.

The Tampiens obtained building permits in March 2020 to complete significant renovations to the 24,500-square-foot mixed-use building on Wall Street, including addition of 21 rental units on its upper floors.

The Tampiens sold the building for $7 million in May to 5D Holdings LLC, whose principal is Scott Isaak, according to Spokane County Assessor’s Office records.

Isaak is owner of the Sweeto Burrito restaurant chain.

South Hill site considered for apartments

The lower South Hill could soon be home to a new multifamily development, according to a pre-development application filed with the city last week.

Property owner 5th and Washington Apartments LLC is planning to build a 67-unit, five-story apartment complex near the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Washington Street.

Site plans show the building’s ground level will be dedicated to parking, while the upper floors will include a mix of studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units.

The project cost has not yet been determined. Construction is slated to begin in spring 2022, according to site plans.

Parks department plans dog park

The city of Spokane Parks and Recreation Department filed a pre-development application to build the Falls Dog Park north of the Spokane River.

Work includes landscaping and adding benches, lighting, fencing and a gazebo to a site at 730 N. Post St.

The project cost is $250,000, according to the application.

Construction on the dog park is slated to begin in spring 2022.

The city is building the dog park with The Falls LLC, a company led by Spokane developer Lawrence Stone, of L.B. Stone Properties and Scafco Corp.

Stone is developing The Falls, a mixed-use project that will be comprised of three buildings at 829 W. Broadway Ave., adjacent to the proposed dog park.

A grading permit application was filed with the city in July to prepare the site for construction of the first tower of The Falls project. The permit is currently under review by the city.