A building permit was requested last week for the $45 million Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center at 13609 E. Mansfield Ave.

It previously was listed as a $36 million project, but construction costs have escalated, said project architect Scott Nicks of NAC Architecture.

“It’s a sign of our times. If it costs more for milk, it costs more for construction materials,” Nicks said.

The performing arts center will be a three-story, state-of-the-art, 59,000-square-foot facility housing a 475-plus-seat main stage theater, 200-seat flexible studio theater, acting conservatory for area youth, and event and business meeting space. It will be designed by NAC Architecture and built by Garco Construction.

The site will feature a third-floor event space with a rooftop deck as well as a garden space for showtime socializing and other events, Nicks said.

“I think it’s going to be a welcome addition to the Spokane Valley and our culture landscape,” Nicks said.

Depending on weather, construction could begin as soon as February, with a target completion date of June 1, 2024.

In July, Idaho Central Credit Union signed a lifetime naming rights agreement for the center.

Dutch Bros plans Barker Road site

Plans have been submitted for a new Dutch Bros Coffee stand at 1204 N. Barker Road in Spokane Valley.

The property owner is listed as GS Bains Properties LLC. Plans call for building a 1,499-square-foot drive-thru coffee stand and adjacent parking on a half-acre at the northeast corner of Barker Road and Boone Avenue.

Company founders, Travis Boersma and his late brother, Dane, started their chain of drive-thru coffee kiosks with a single pushcart in 1992.

The business had 471 locations across the West at the end of June 2021, stretching from Washington to Texas.

Apartments planned in West Central

A local contractor plans to build two identical apartment buildings in Spokane that are designed to provide needed housing built on lots, that based on their sizes, have been difficult to develop.

Conrad Manfred, of Kodiak General Contractors, has submitted building permit applications for the nine-unit apartment buildings in Spokane’s West Central Neighborhood.

One is located at 1801 W. Mallon Ave. and the other is located near the intersection of Cannon Street and Boone Avenue.

Steve Goodmansen, an architect with Bernardo Wills, said both buildings are exactly the same design. Plans call for three-story buildings, each having about 6,324 square feet of living space.

“It’s kind of neat,” Goodmansen said. Manfred is “trying to take these little lots that are hard to build on, and trying to help out the housing crunch we are dealing with. He’s trying to take care of that niche.”

Valuation of the projects are about $1.16 million each. The most recent application was filed Dec. 2 with the city of Spokane, but Goodmansen was unsure of the expected completion date.

Manfred could not be reached for comment.

Symons Block to get apartments, suites

Local developers are looking to remodel the third and fourth floors of a building at 9 S. Howard St., which is part of the historic Symons Block, into apartments and short-stay suites.

Plans call for remodeling more than 17,000 square feet and for a projected cost of about $800,000.

The building’s first floor currently is commercial space that has several shops. The second floor is office retail space.

Plans include remodeling the third and fourth floors into 10 short-stay suites and 14 apartments, owner Mark Agee said.

The family’s LLC purchased the building about 18 months ago.

“We really like the old buildings, restoring them and bringing them back to life instead of tearing them down,” Agee said. “We hope to start leasing out in May or June. They are going to be top-end apartments.”

The suites will have bedrooms and a shared bathroom space, Agee said.

“We are trying to ignite downtown for living again,” he said.