MetroSpokane

Public Meeting: Sprague/Appleway Revitalization

Fast on the heels of last week's comment-o-rama, comes the news that the Spokane Valley is having a Public Meeting regarding the transportation/revitalization plans for the proposed city center and Sprague/Appleway corridor.  The meeting takes place on Tuesday, August 19th at CenterPlace, 2426 North Discovery Place in the Spokane Valley.

The transportation plan is proposing a revamping of Sprague and Appleway from one-way couplets to create two, two-ways for large portions of the six-mile corridor.  The addition of a true city-center is also being proposed.  If you've been paying attention as the plan has been developed over the past year it's provoked ample discussion about the future of our neighboring city.  Some like the status-quo of Sprague Avenue, while others feel it's high time it becomes more than what it currently is.

South Perry: Summer theater begins this Friday

[Photo courtesy of zenamoonbeam via Flickr]

If it's summer you can bet the South Perry Summer Theater is just around the corner.  Actually it all begins this Friday in the Perry District.  The location is per the usual in the Parking lot of the Shop and movies generally begin at dusk, twilight, nightfall or whatever measure of darkness is required to see the thing.  For your browsing convenience see the schedule below...and bring a lawnchair, couch, papasan, or whatever works best for you.  Although it's free, bring some scheckles to support this fine tradition.

Midtown is on the rise

[Midtown - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho ]

COEUR D'ALENE - Next time you're in Coeur d'Alene swing on up to Midtown on 4th Avenue and have a look around.  It's not nearly as glamorous and spiffy as downtown, the sidewalks aren't embellished with bricks and fancy street lights, but it's a great little business district that has it's own vibe.

The Abbey: Density everyone should love

Examples of well designed infill development are few and far between as we've illustrated here and here.  Especially in the Perry nabe where they've suffered more than their fair share of off-the-shelf, Anywhere, WA designs over the past couple years.  Well suffer no more; The Perry District is getting what appears to be some well deserved quality infill up on 15th and Ivory.  Welcome, The Abbey.

On a basalt and pine strewn 26,000 sqf lot the six roomy homes will share a common garden-grounds area, and each will have their own private garden patios.  Oh, did we mention it'll all be done with a green bent to it?  Green buzzwords include passive solar gain, SIPs construction, and lots of recycled and renewable materials. Perhaps the most shocking aspect is that they actually look to fit into the surrounding neighborhood in terms of scale, site plan, and design [gasp]. The location is pretty sweet, providing easy access to transit, bike lanes, and a stone's throw to a neighborhood center.  See?  Density doesn't have to be a dirty word.

• Your Floorplan & Elevation fix after the leap [pdf]>>>
• The Abbey - 15th and Ivory [GMAP]

Walgreens Update: Grand Avenue a little less grand...

Ahhh...Grand Avenue, one of Spokane's finest streets.  Driving up past St. John's Cathedral, slipping under the tree-covered canopy along Manito Park, the fine old homes, quaint small businesses nestled into the fabric of the neighborhood...and then you hit 29th and Grand.  WTF?  Friends, it looks like Walgreens has brought their "D" plans to the South Hill.  Not that 29th and Grand was any great bastion of pedestrian friendliness, but this was a prime opportunity to change that and it went uncontested.  A well-sited building can be a wonderful thing.

STOREFRONT: Cat's Meow moving into former Junebugs location

SOUTH PERRY DISTRICT - It took awhile, but the former Junebugs building in has a new tenant...almost.  The Cat's Meow a new veterinary clinic has hung up a temporary sign indicating their opening is imminent.  As the name suggests this is a felines-only shop, so all you dog people will have to find love somewhere else.  Although, given the large number of dogs we see getting toted along to The Shop on a Saturday morn, it makes us think they've effectively cut their market in half.  Still, we think it's a perfect fit for a neighborhood business district.

How walkable is your Spokane nabe?

Via the Sightline Institute we learned of a great new Google Maps mashup that analyzes (albeit loosely) how walkable your neighborhood is.  Using walkscore.com, punch in an address and it calculates a score based on the services available to and within proximity of your address.

An idea to copy: Artist Relocation Program

If you're an artist, there's a chance you've heard of Paducah, Kentucky.  If not, you should.  The city of Paducah implemented a fantastic incentive program back in 2000 called the Artist Relocation Program, and placed the arts at the center of their economic development strategy.  The impact arts have on the local economy cannot be understated.  In fact EWU just completed an analysis of the fiscal impact the arts have on Spokane's economy.  But Paducah's approach is really quite unique and one we should bring to town.

Help a transplant: Future student needs info on where to live

Today a cry for help, dear readers.  Cruising over on the SkyscraperPage Forum, we read the following message from a soon to be transplant from Tempe, AZ.  The writer, known to us only as SunDevil, looks to be attending Gonzaga in the fall and has a few questions about our fair city:

"Moving up to Spokane in August!  Was wondering what some of your thoughts are on where to live. I would like to live downtown since it's close to school, Gonzaga. However, I have been told NOT to live downtown. Is it really that bad?  Moving up from Tempe, AZ I was wondering what to expect as far as rent in the area, here it's about $780 for a 2 br 1 bath 660 sq. ft. in a not too nice part of town."

So have at it all you readers and lurkers.  Now is you're chance to share that surplus of useful Spokane knowledge you've built up over the years.  In the comments section give our new friend the lowdown on places to check out for living.  Be sure and talk neighborhoods, rent, number of rooms, etc.

South Perry getting its (in)fill...

In and around South Perry a good amount of infill development has been ocurring on previously vacant lots. Most of the infill so far has been two-family in flavor.  Bringing more people to the neighborhood and buildings on the tax roles is excellent news in our opinion.  South Perry has loads of potential and continues to get better all the time.