SR.com Blogs | Here's The Dirt

Spokane native wins national architecture award

Courtesy

Internationally known architect Tom Kundig, a Spokane native, will add another national award to his resume. ( Full post )

Gallery moving to mall, Scratch expanding

Artisans� Wares, the last vestige of a row of small art galleries along West First Avenue, will move a few blocks to River Park Square � a higher-traffic area. ( Full post )

Home sales still down year-over-year

Nearly a third fewer single-family homes sold in Spokane County last month than in April 2007, according to data released today by the Spokane Association of Realtors showing continued declines compared to last year. ( Full post )

Crane on Post

Phone picture by Lisa Leinberger

Why is a tall crane parked next to the Washington Trust Financial Center and part of Post Street blocked off downtown? It's not a new, spiraled top for the building, as a poster over at MetroSpokane would like to see. ( Full post )

Spokane Club to renovate Valley location

The Spokane Athletic Club will add two indoor tennis courts, construct new locker rooms and reconfigure the conditioning room at its Spokane Valley location during the first part of a $5 million renovation, club officials announced today. ( Full post )

Update: New medical buildings planned at Riverpoint

Denver-based NexCore Group is negotiating with Washington State University to transform a 3.5-acre portion of its Riverpoint Campus into a healthcare, academic and research center, including two new, three-story buildings. ( Full post )

WSU to negotiate with Denver outfit on Jensen-Byrd redevelopment

Washington State University will continue negotiations for redeveloping a 3.5-acre chunk of its Riverpoint Campus with Denver-based healthcare real estate developer NexCore Group after choosing its proposal over three concepts by other companies, including local developer Wells & Co. ( Full post )

Lydig Construction, partner win $106 million PNNL contract

Rendering courtesy PNNL

A joint venture including a Spokane construction company has won a $106 million contract to finish a 200,000-square-foot research facility at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland � the largest building contract in lab history, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. ( Full post )

Spokane Art School building sold

ILF Media has purchased the Spokane Art School building for $1.1 million. ( Full post )

Red Lobster Spokane-bound

Opens a .pdf site plan.

A Red Lobster seafood restaurant is expected to be part of the new Northtown Square development at the corner of ~~East~~ West Wellesley Avenue and North Division Street next spring. ( Full post )

Possible Kendall Yards partner out

Another major potential development partner for Kendall Yards has fallen through. ( Full post )

Spokane Partners eyes downtown garage

A new 250-stall downtown parking garage under consideration by Spokane Partners LLC could help alleviate parking headaches for theater and restaurant patrons in the Davenport District. ( Full post )

New Riverside bar planned

A new bar could open in the former 24 Hour Fitness building on West Riverside Avenue this fall, said Mark McLees, a leasing agent with NAI Black. ( Full post )

Part of BlueRay's building for sale

Lawsuit-embattled BlueRay Technologies Inc. is offering the top two floors of its downtown Commercial Building, 1119 W. First Ave., for sale at $1.5 million, according to an NAI Black flyer. BlueRay, which intends to manufacture and distribute Blu-ray and other optical discs in a basement clean room and ground-level facilities, purchased the three-story building out of foreclosure last year through a related company, Pacific First West LLC. ( Full post )

Four developers bid for Riverpoint parcels

Local developers Wells & Co. and GVD Commercial Properties both have submitted development proposals for portions of Washington State University�s Riverpoint Campus. ( Full post )

Goodbye Cucina Cucina hole

Joel Maine steadies the Cucina Cucina sign as it is taken down on the corner of Main and Wall in downtown Spokane in September 2003. (S-R/Liz Kishimoto)

A local couple intends to open a day spa in what remains of the former Cucina Cucina Italian Cafe space in the Crescent Court building downtown. ( Full post )

West Spokane condos proposed

A Sunset Hill landowner is proposing a 400-unit, seven-building condominium complex near Interstate 90. ( Full post )

VA loan use nearly doubles in March

Here's another sign of the times on mortgage lending. ( Full post )

Loan assistance still available

Low-interest loans and down payment assistance for would-be homebuyers still are available through local nonprofits, Community Frameworks HomeStarts Program Manager John Fisher writes in response to our coverage Sunday of tightening credit standards. We alluded to programs from SNAP in the story, but he mentions others in a recent letter: ( Full post )

BoA tower owner dims lights on Earth Day

Unico CEO and President Dale Sperling and Spokane Mayor Mary Verner distribute compact flourescent light bulbs Tuesday.

Bank tellers worked in the dark Tuesday as visitors to the Bank of America Financial Center downtown climbed frozen escalators. ( Full post )