The Dirt: Appetite alert! Food truck court planned for Francis Avenue
Developers are planning to turn a vacant piece of land into a food truck court with outdoor seating near the intersection of North Division Street and Francis Avenue, according to plans submitted to the city of Spokane earlier this month.
The development would include concrete foundations for 34 food trucks and an indoor taphouse. An outdoor dining area, grassy open space, a stage and parking is also part of the project, according to plans.
At 451 E. Francis Ave., the 1.36-acre plot is owned by Double Eagle Properties, a real estate development group that owns a handful of surrounding lots including those that house Double Eagle Pawn .
The developer behind the proposed food truck court is Scott Aitchison, owner of Environment West Landscape Services in Spokane.
Aitchison said details regarding the project are limited considering it is still early in the development process.
“We’re looking at a number of sites and jurisdictions. We will be meeting with the city to get their take and see whether it’s going to be feasible,” he said. “It’s more of a fishing expedition at this point.”
Motivation for the project comes from the proven success of similar operations in other cities around the country, Aitchison said.
“I’m a developer and that’s what we do. We bring cool ideas that work in other locations and bring them to places they don’t exist in yet,” he said. “It could be a great idea or maybe not. It really all depends on what the city and the people in the area have to say.”
Addiction Treatment Center planned
A cutting-edge facility is being planned by the Spokane Falls Recovery Center, an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center in north Spokane.
It will be built a couple of blocks from the North Division “Y” and include five buildings including lodging and treatment accommodations.
At 111 E. Magnesium Road, Recovery Center officials are planning to demolish a 50-year-old building and replace it with a roughly 9,400 square-foot treatment center, according to plans submitted to the city of Spokane last month.
Plans show the one-story building would include eight treatment rooms each with two beds. A nurses station, common areas, dining and cooking space, offices and a gym are also part of the project.
The cost of construction was not disclosed in the permit application documents submitted by Tony Rosetti, projects director at Form Architecture, a Spokane firm.
Neither Rosetti nor the owners of Spokane Falls Recovery Center could be reached by press time.
Dance school in Hillyard
Deann Turner is the founding and sole owner of Ohana Dance Fellowship, a dance instruction company she currently operates from her home.
Though she has never advertised her ballet, tap and studio dance classes, she has reached the capacity of students she can teach from her residence.
“There are many people who are wanting a buildout of a new studio to happen,” Turner said.
Native to Oahu, Hawaii, she will bring her ideals of community into her new studio, she said.
“Ohana means family in Hawaiian, and that’s what this will be,” she said. “Because it is not just about the company but about the area and community.”
Turner has entered into a purchase agreement to buy a property at the southwest corner of Bismark Avenue and Julia Street, she said.
While she’s not yet dead set on that location, Turner said she wants to remain in the area.
“This is my home and this my community,” she said. “I am only looking in Hillyard.”
The new building would be about 4,200 square feet and include two dance studios, a performance space and outdoor patio that can be used for neighborhood events, she said.
With the development, Turner hopes to employ teachers that can offer classes in other types of dance like Irish dancing and hula, she said.
The cost of construction is estimated at about $450,000, according to plans submitted to the city of Spokane.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Double Eagle Properties owns Eagles Ice Arena. The arena is owned by Eagles Management LLC.