Spokane/ CDA development discussions

[RemiO]

I'm thinking it's more akin to the firm having to execute his "vision." Worthy has a lot going for him, but good taste is not on that list.

[ghost22]

i still think that this is still an exciting project, one ugly building is still better for the city than nothing. what block of howard is the 15 story tower going in, if it is the one accross from the holly mason building i will have to find a new place to park

[Hub for an Empire]

^^^^ It will be directly South of the Wells Fargo building and train tracks.

[revrw]

Originally Posted by ghost22

i still think that this is still an exciting project, one ugly building is still better for the city than nothing. what block of howard is the 15 story tower going in, if it is the one accross from the holly mason building i will have to find a new place to park

That is the parking lot!!!..........LOL

[StarmanO]

Yeah, it's a pretty hideous building, but hopefully it can turn out at least mediocre. Since I live on the north side It won't be blocking the view for me

Also, what I don't understand, is why almost every high rise in Spokane is a long, rectangle box . You'd think someone would want to build something different than what seems to be the norm in Spokane, something like a mini-chrysler building, or anything that doesn't have a flat roof.

[chepe]

Looks like light rail will be on the ballot this fall for Spokane, the STA is working on the wording of the ballot language right now. It will be interesting to see what happens if only one of the questions wins a majority of the yes vote. The overall price seems pretty reasonable for a relatively long light rail line. From today's Spokesman-Review:

STA weighs light rail ballot wording
From Staff Reports
August 16, 2006

Voters will get their say this fall on a proposed light rail system.

But on Thursday the Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors will choose exactly what questions voters will decide.

The board meets at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at Spokane City Hall.

An ad-hoc committee of board members is suggesting the following questions:

1. Should STA identify local taxing alternatives to bring forward to the voters for approval to fund a $268 million light rail project to run from Spokane city, through the city of Spokane Valley to Liberty Lake?


2. Should STA use existing revenues to fund preliminary engineering and environmental analysis for a future light rail project to run from Spokane city through the city of Spokane Valley to Liberty Lake?

[seattlefoo1]

New to this forum (although I have been reading it for a while). Hi!!
Saw this in on SR.com this morning. This is the first I have heard of this. Question: What is the difference between the Ridpath Hotel and the Ridpath Executive Court? It would be nice if the tower portion remained a hotel.

Artisan Hotel possible in city
Ridpath among potential sites
Alison Boggs
Staff writer
August 17, 2006

A Las Vegas hotelier is planning an art-themed hotel in Spokane, according to published reports from two other cities.

Douglas DaSilva, who owns the Artisan Hotel and Spa in Las Vegas, declined to comment, saying a contract prevented him from discussing his plans for Spokane until next month. However, articles in the Las Vegas Sun and the Business Journal of Phoenix say DaSilva and his wife, Ninette, are planning an Artisan Hotel in Spokane.

The other hotels the DaSilvas have opened in Las Vegas and Memphis, Tenn., and the ones they are planning in El Paso, Texas, and Phoenix, resulted from the purchase and renovation of other hotel properties, the articles say. The Las Vegas hotel was a former Travelodge, the El Paso location was a Holiday Inn, and the Phoenix location was a Sunshine Hotel and Suites.


Among the Spokane hotels for sale or with sales pending are the Ridpath Hotel on Sprague Avenue and the Howard Johnson Hotel on Division Street. Red Lion Hotels, which owns the Ridpath, said in a recent earnings report that the sale of the historic Ridpath would close by the end of September. However, Red Lion's investor relations manager, Julie Langenheim, declined to name the buyer.

The Las Vegas Artisan Hotel Web site describes a small, luxurious boutique hotel with an "elegant atmosphere" and "exquisite fine art" adorning the lobby, hallways, ceilings and 64 rooms. The décor includes framed prints by great artists such as Rembrandt, Renoir, Van Gogh and DaVinci, the news reports say. The hotel also has a full-service spa.

The DaSilvas purchased the El Paso property for $1.6 million, the Memphis property for $2.9 million and the Phoenix property for $5.2 million, according to the Phoenix Business Journal.

In January, a group of investors purchased the Ridpath's Executive Court section, on First Avenue. They are converting it to a 56-unit condominium complex with ground-floor retail shops to be called City Place.

[Hub for an Empire]

Welcome Seattlefoo1!

The Executive Court is the old Motorlodge addition of the Ridpath Hotel across the street from the Ridpath Hotel. It's located on 1st Avenue. It's being turned into Condos with hopefully a grocery store on the street level.

[chepe]

A few new developments in today's Spokesman Review. There is an article about the increasing demand for cranes in the region http://www.spokesmanreview.com/busin...=145910&page=2 which is good news for highrise fans. In the same story there is this snippet about the Davenport Tower I found interesting:

"A 300-ton lift crane with a luffing jib is being used to build the 22-story Davenport Tower and Residences in Spokane. The leased crane comes with its own operator and "oilman," or maintenance person. It costs about $500 an hour to operate, according Chuck Prussack, vice president at Central Pre-Mix. The crane speeds up the rate of construction. "We're building a floor about every four days," he said. Pre-cast components are being used in the tower's construction."

The number of floors on this project has been reported all over the map but I'm pretty sure 22 is the most I've seen. They are currently working on the 18th floor and they have the stair/elevator shafts in place to continue upward.

Also, it looks like the park board will purchase the YMCA to prevent the 15 story condominium project but will be asking the voters to pay for it http://www.spokesmanreview.com/local....asp?ID=146008

[Trebor of Spokane]

Here is a link to a news story from Krem TV abbout the Vox Tower there is also some video,


http://www.krem.com/topstories/stori....365c1e3b.html

Notice someting in the background? looks like another building!

[Hub for an Empire]

^^^^ I watched the news clip the other night also on KEM 2. I keep hearing stories about Brewster and how he is getting into financial problems over his other ventures.
On the other building in the background, I was wondering if it is his Havermale Park Tower building. I brought this up in the past, and someone brushed it off, since they stated it was the same project? There is an empty parking lot to the west of the block, as I recall.

I hate to admit this to everyone, but I'm kind of getting used to the Davenport Tower! Still think the windows should have been different for the building, but coming down the freeway yesterday, it kind of blends into the skyline and doesn't make a negative impact. Looks similar in shape, but shorter, than the Wells Fargo Building. I do think two floor to ceiling windows for each room would have gave it a different appearance.
We will all see how it looks when everything is done with the tower!

[urbanlife]

Yeah with Spokane developers I like to play the hand "I will believe it when I see it" I will believe the Vox will get built when they are putting up the crane. Till then, it is just talk from the developer. Besides Brewster isn't the smartest developer I have ever seen.

But I do hope this building gets built.

[SPOKANITE]

Originally Posted by Trebor of Spokane

Isn't that just the inset image of the the building's elevation?

[sustainable]

Did anybody else notice that the KREM report mentioned that there was already city approval for the VOX tower? Sounds like great news for Brewster until you read the next paragraph which states that the hearing examiner still has to approve the project because it goes well above the height restriction because it is out of the downtown core. So which one is it? There is no "city approval" until the hearing examiner approves it so unfortunately we'll have to wait for actual city approval once the hearing examiner makes his decision. Bad reporting on KREM's part it sounds like.

[sustainable]

One other thing - I talked with a really good inside source. Here is what I have found out so far: During construction the tower's height has changed between 17, 22 and 19 floors. As of last weekend they were still not certain where it was going to end and they are working very closely with Walt. Walt is meticulous. He spends a ton of time on (often bad looking) details. The street facade is still not chosen as to what the first two stories will look like. Mr. Worthy wants the first two floors in precast with the same black windows as the rest of the building. Yes, you are reading that correct, BUT Bernardo Wills is a good firm trying to give it a good street facade and talk Mr. Worthy into not screwing this up (like the wells fargo tower, garage and dav garage). It sounds like Bernardo Wills had exceptionally specific parameters as to what they could design. One thing I have heard is that the awnings will now be flat rather than angled which is making the structural engineers go nuts because all of the tension points have only been engineered for an angled awning rather than flat and since they're working with prestressed here you can't just go back and change stuff, you have to retrofit instead.

I am starting to agree with Hub, if you walk by the tower and look up as long as there is a decent street facade I don't think that the building is as bad as it might have been.

[chepe]

Interesting information on the Davenport Tower. Amazing that they are still deciding how tall to build it this far along. As of right now they are working on the 20th floor (according to how they count them) so maybe it will end up at 22. I really hope the Bernardo folks are able to convince Worthy to at least make the street level look really nice. Worthy did a great job with the original Davenport but had to be leaned on with some of the items (windows, ballrooms, etc). I haven't warmed up to the tower yet. Yes, it is so bland that it sort of just blends into the skyline but when you really look at it there is just not much to like about the project at this point. I'm still hopeful it will all come together in the end.

[Trebor of Spokane]

I had wrote an earlier post that the krem 2 story Picture of the Vox showed another building on the block and i was wrong, it was just soem overlapping of another photo of the same building. Sorry to anyone who tokk that at Fact.

Previous post here Stated that they are working on Floors 20 ( as they counted them) thought i would clarify this. They are counting the two Basement Floor putting them only 18 floors above ground. But....


... no floor 13 which really means there are currently only 17 floors above ground. Wondering if this is part of the reason why there is confusion whether there will be 21 or 22 floors. I'm thinking there will only be a total of 21 floors, but the top floor will be marked as #22 since there is no #13. That would mean only 19 floor above ground and two more floors to go to top out.



from the free way


the view of downtown from Kendall Yards

[urbanlife]

ummm....from the freeway pic I am thinking it looks more like a commie building. Can we say 50's low income housing. Oh well at least it doesn't look gawdy.

[Hub for an Empire]

I was downtown yesterday. I noticed they didn't have a 13th floor.
I counted 16 floors above street level with 2 below ( I counted twice). That should mean they have another three , at least to go, unless they add more floors.
I noticed the windows are the same as on the Old Wells Fargo building. Not sure why they don't change the facade to a natural stone instead of the original brick on that building. Still looks dated to me.

Lets hope the Wall Street Condo project adds something to the downtown.
It would be nice to have some other shapes than just rectangular in the CBD.

[Trebor of Spokane]

It would be nice also if they would build something at a different angle, i dont think there is a building in downtown that is at a different angle than the block it is on. north and south and east and west. kinda boring.