The Dirt: Ness Elementary addition approved by Spokane Valley
The city of Spokane Valley has issued construction permits for an estimated $1.6 million project to expand Arthur B. Ness Elementary School.
The project would add 2,370 square feet to the west end of the building at 9612 E. Cataldo Ave., according to documents submitted to the city.
No contractor was listed.
Randy Wilson, principal architect for the project from Spokane-based NAC Architecture, said in February that the project was planned to go to bid in March and be completed in August.
The addition will include a media center and library, permits read.
It will also make more space for kindergartners, Wilson said in February.
The expansion was intended to be paid for by a bond but was denied by voters earlier this year. Still, he said, the district has available funds for the project.
“They don’t have a choice,” Wilson said earlier this year. “They have to do the project.”
The bond would have paid for a similar project at Pasadena Park Elementary School, he said.
In a social media post, West Valley School District said the bond would expand, “learning spaces at Ness and Pasadena Park for bringing kindergartners back to their neighborhood communities.“
NAC Architecture’s main clientele are school districts, Wilson said.
“We have done most of the high schools in the area and most of the work at West Valley for the last 20 years,” he said.
The firm has also worked on multiple high schools for Spokane Public Schools, Glover Middle School, both Mead School District high schools, Mountainside Middle School and Prairie View Elementary School.
Golf simulator planned at Wonder Building
Developers have submitted a remodel permit for an already busy building near the Spokane Arena.
The Wonder Building, at 835 N Post St., houses a 12,000-square-foot market in its bottom floor. Victory Burger, Uno Mas Taco Shop, and Victory Bar & Coffee are located there.
The building hosts another two stories of commercial space for rent, according to its website, that already host multiple businesses.
And earlier this month, an application was submitted to obtain permits to allow developers to renovate about 4,000 square feet of the structure into a bar that features three golfing simulators and a putting green.
Golfing simulators are growing in popularity and allow a round of 18 holes to be played in a roughly 300-square-foot space.
Golfers hit balls into a screen which tracks the course of a ball on a display of a golf course.
The new Wonder Building project plans three “bays” available for rent to groups of players.
There will also be a roughly 900-square-foot area developers are calling a speakeasy, according to plans.
Owners of the Wonder Building could not immediately be reached last week.
Box Car improvements
In May of 2022, the city of Spokane inspected and approved the newly constructed Boxcar Apartments, a seven-story, mixed use-building at 15 N. Grant St.
The building is hard to miss because it towers over anything else in the area and because of its chic, white modern-looking appearance.
The 78,500-square-foot building contains 136 units, a lounge, fitness center, covered parking and a café on the ground level, according to previous Spokesman-Review reports.
But in April of this year, the new building was extensively damaged by water, according to city records.
Plans submitted to the city show remediation work will be required on all seven floors, including residential units, hallways and the lobby.
The permits submitted earlier this month only include demolition plans and renovation work will be included in future permits, the documents read.
According to demolition plans, work will include about 27,000 square feet of walls, 9,000 square feet of flooring and 36,000 square feet of ceilings.
It will cost an estimated $48,000 to remove the damaged material, the application read.
Belfor Property Restoration will conduct the demolition work. Describing the scope of the project, company officials said the estimate is based on initial observations.
“Belfor is not sure of the full extent of the water damage,” the description read. “Tenants were still occupying the units on the day of our inspection … there may be a need for abatement and that would be at additional cost. Tenants and contents would need to be relocated for demo/mitigation to take place.”