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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The Dirt: Plans move forward for large delivery station at former Lowe’s site in north Spokane

By Amy Edelen and Ted McDermott The Spokesman-Review

Plans are progressing for a large delivery station and warehouse at the former site of a Lowe’s Home Improvement Store in north Spokane.

Irvine, California-based design firm MG2 filed a conditional use permit application with the city to convert the 117,000-square-foot former Lowe’s store into a delivery station and a 9,600-square-foot office at 6902 N. Division St.

An environmental review for the project was also submitted to the Washington State Department of Ecology in October.

The project – described as a “final stop delivery facility” in documents filed with the city – calls for addition of a new loading dock south of the proposed delivery station, development of a new parking lot with 74 spaces for fleet vehicles, 117 employee parking spaces and van-queuing area.

The application also indicates developers will convert a 4-acre site south of the delivery center at 6720 N. Division St. into an additional parking lot for fleet van parking.

Spokane developer Harlan Douglass is the property owner.

More than 200 people will be working at the facility, according to city documents.

A company name is not attached to the project, although a rendering filed with the city shows the building’s exterior with a color scheme of cerulean blue, light and dark gray, which Amazon typically uses in the design of its fulfillment and delivery centers.

Amazon’s delivery stations prepare customer orders for “last-mile delivery” to customers.

When a preliminary application was filed for the project in September, The Spokesman-Review reached out to Amazon, which declined to comment on if it was building a delivery station in north Spokane.

“We are constantly exploring new locations and weighing a variety of factors when deciding where to develop sites to best serve customers, however, we don’t provide information on our future roadmap,” Amazon spokeswoman Anne Laughlin said in an email.

An unnamed company also filed a permit application this month to build an Amazon-like distribution center – referred to as Project Fireball-GEG2 – at 18007 E. Garland Ave. in Spokane Valley.

People’s

Waffle food truck looks to brick-and-mortar

People’s Waffle, a food truck that sells gluten-free waffles with a variety of toppings, is planning to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in downtown Spokane, according to a preliminary application filed with the city.

People’s Waffle co-owner Alyssa Agee filed the application to renovate a space formerly occupied by The Observatory into a restaurant in the Symons Building at 15 S. Howard St.

Renovations include painting, repairing sheetrock, installing a commercial kitchen and new light fixtures, refinishing floors, and removing stage and sound equipment.

Construction is expected to begin in December, according to the application.

Bellingham-based Symons Building LLC is the current property owner.

The Symons Building, built in 1917, has four floors and spans more than 67,700 square feet. Tenants include All You Can Ink Tattoo Studio, Law Offices of Maris Baltins and Evergreen Region Volleyball Association, among others.

Mark Agee filed a preliminary application with the city earlier this month to potentially remodel the building’s upper two floors into residential units.

Building permit filed for new Zona Blanca SpokaneThe historic Holley-Mason building in downtown Spokane will soon have a new tenant.

Chef Chad White is reopening Zona Blanca, a fast-casual, counter-service ceviche bar in an 1,800-square-foot space in the building at 157 S. Howard St., according to a permit filed with the city.

White opened Zona Blanca in 2016 in the Steel Barrel taproom at 154 S. Madison St. He told The Spokesman-Review last month the new Zona Blanca restaurant on Howard Street will have a liquor license, which it lacked at its former location in the Steel Barrel.

Post Falls-based Basso LLC is the project contractor. Spokane-based Uptic Studios is designing the restaurant. The project valuation is $67,000, according to the permit application.

Zona Blanca’s Facebook page indicates the restaurant will be open in December.

Zoning change would allow multifamily development BemissThree parcels of land on Liberty Avenue, between North Market and Haven streets in the Bemiss neighborhood, will be rezoned from residential to commercial use if the Spokane City Council approves a proposal to do so at its Monday meeting.

Documents prepared for the council ahead of its vote indicate the applicant, Jordan Tampien of Liberty Project LLC, intends to build a multifamily, mixed-use development on the approximately half acre of land, which currently contains a restaurant and one single-family home.

While the proposal faced opposition from some members of the public about the increased density and potential commercial use in the neighborhood, the Plan Commission unanimously recommended that council approve the zoning change.

Parcels at 29th and Ray could be office space

The City Council also will consider changing the zoning of four parcels in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood to allow for office development, with a 35-foot height limit.

The lots, at 3203 and 3207 E. 29th Ave. and 2820 and 2826 S. Ray St., are currently zoned residential single-family.

Several neighbors and the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council have objected to the plan, according to comments included in a packet prepared for council members.

The Plan Commission voted unanimously to approve the proposed zoning change for the parcels on Ray Street and to deny the change for the parcels on 29th Avenue.