The Dirt: Building supply store coming to Airway Heights

Construction has begun to bring a new hardware and building supply store to Airway Heights.

Crews have begun erecting the structural steel for the 64,506-square-foot Builders Supply & Home Center, which is being built on an 8-acre site the Kalispel Tribe of Indians leased to Aman Sood, of Colville.

The location at 11350 W. 12th Ave. is adjacent to a new Yoke’s Fresh Market at 11450 W. 12th Ave.

Both construction sites are located directly north and adjacent to the Kalispel Market convenience store and Chevron gas station on U.S. Highway 2.

The owner is Aman Sood, who owns the Colville Builders Shopping Center in Colville and Kettle Falls True Value in Kettle Falls, Washington.

David Wilde, the lead architect and project manager, said construction already has begun on the Builders Supply & Home Center and the contractors hope to be finished later this year, depending on several factors.

“It’s pretty straightforward,” said Wilde, who works for Wolfe Architectural Group, of Spokane. “It’s got hardware, but it’s also a lumber store. It will also have an outdoor lawn-and-garden center.”

The building permit indicates that about 40,960 square feet will be dedicated to commercial retail space, 19,060 square feet will be warehousing and 4,486 square feet will be reserved for stock.

Sood could not immediately be reached for comment. But in 2021, he told The Spokesman-Review that he was excited to expand to the Spokane area.

“I always wanted to start a business in Airway Heights … it’s a growing area and Airway Heights needs a good hardware store for building materials and supplies,” Sood said. “I saw an opportunity and wanted to make the best out of it.”

The project’s estimated cost is more than $6 million, Sood said at the time.

Sood plans to offer a wide range of products at the hardware store, including paint, cabinets, insulation, roofing, flooring, windows, and electrical and plumbing supplies.

The store will feature a drive-thru lumberyard as well as an expanded fencing and ranch selection with metal and pole building kits, as well as lawn, garden and pet supplies.

“It caters to both homeowners and professionals for all of their building material needs,” Sood said.

The store is expected to employ 65 to 70 people, Sood said.

While he’s not associated with the next-door project, Wilde said crews have begun constructing the brick walls for what will become a new Yoke’s Fresh Market.

According to permit documents, plans call for a 50,146-square-foot building that would be separated from the Chevron by a large parking lot.

Plans also call for charging stations for electrical vehicles. The site drawings show a total of 229 parking spaces.

The projected cost of the new grocery store was not listed in the permit request.

Avenue 29 apartments

A building permit has been requested from the city of Spokane to build a 41-foot-tall building, which will house 21 apartments, where two existing homes stand on 29th Avenue.

The project, called Avenue 29, is owned by Jordan Bensen-Piscopo, of 4 Degrees Real Estate.

Gwen McConn, of Olson Projects in Spokane, is the lead architect and project manager.

McConn said plans call for demolishing the two residences at 713 and 717 E. 29th Ave. and then building the 13,020-square-foot building in their place.

The site is directly across 29th Avenue from an existing Ross Dress for Less and the Super 1 Foods-Manito.

McConn said plans call for studio apartments that are 534 square feet and one-bedroom apartments that are 626 square feet. The plans also call for 19 parking stalls, of which 14 will be covered.

Construction on the new building is awaiting demolition permits for the existing structures, she said.

“It was supposed to be permit ready by the end of August,” said McConn.

She said the goal would be to start construction this fall. S he wasn’t sure how long it would take to complete.

The contractor is T.W. Clark Construction, of Spokane Valley, and the estimated cost of the project is listed at $1.95 million.

Garden District Apartments

Permits to add the last building of a larger complex of apartments have been submitted to the city of Spokane. The permit seeks to add a 31-unit building as part of the 79-unit Garden District Apartments on East 30th Avenue.

Liberty Lake-based Greenstone Homes obtained building permits earlier this year to begin building the 79-unit Garden District Apartments on a 4-acre site at 2206 E. 30th Ave. on Spokane’s South Hill.

The project, originally projected to cost about $6 million, will consist of five buildings with six to 12 apartments. The largest building, with 31 units, is the one associated with the more recent permit request.

The architect for the project is Andrew Mahaffey, and the engineer is GLR Engineers, of Spokane.

The owner is Garden District Apartments LLC, and Joe Frank, president and CEO of Greenstone Homes, is the project’s contact. Efforts to reach Mahaffey and Frank for comment were unsuccessful.

The site is a block south of the Numerica Credit Union South Hill Branch at 2202 E. 29th Ave.

Tom Clouse can be reached at (509) 459-5495 or at tomc@spokesman.com.