When Bernardo Wills Architects PC set out to design a retail building for a small parcel nestled against a mature South Hill neighborhood, it attempted to break up the structure visuallyusing a variety of building materials and roof featuresso the building might blend in better with nearby homes.


The results of such effortsfueled by market demand, building codes, community design committees, and neighborhood expectationsare becoming increasingly evident in the Spokane area, architects and developers say.


Whether through architectural detail, building setbacks, or extensive landscaping, developers and designers are attempting to soften the scale of commercial projects to make them less imposing on their surroundings, they say.


It depends on what constitutes the neighborhood character, says Gary Bernardo a principal at Bernardo Wills Architects, of Spokane. We try to mimic it through landscaping, setbacks, and design.


Bernardo Wills work on the South Hill retail building, called Grand Corner, was for client Payne Properties & Development, a Spokane company that developed the 13,000-square-foot center, at the southeast corner of 37th Avenue and Grand Boulevard, on the South Hill. Grand Corner now houses a Starbucks and a Snap Fitness outlet.


Were thrilled with the way it came out, Bernardo says.


Businesses operators have become more willing to incorporate into their projects design details that help retail buildings fit in with their surroundings, Bernardo says.


I think theyre finding out its good for business, he says. It makes for better neighborhoods. Better neighborhoods do better business.


Ron Wendle, an architect with Wells & Co., a Spokane company that specializes in restoring urban commercial and residential buildings, says its important to break up the scale of large projects visually.


Even in commercial zones, municipalities are trying to avoid having big-box stores abutting residential neighborhoods, Wendle says.


For instance, he says, the Fred Meyer Stores outlet at 400 S. Thor, which has 140,000 square feet of retail space, was designed so one of its shortest exterior walls, on its south side, was closest to homes, and the second level of its west side, which also is near a residential street, was set back to lessen the buildings scale.


Still, Wendle says, Sometimes with a big-box retailer, theres only so much you can do.


Tami Palmquist, a planner with the city of Spokane, says the city has had a design-review process for commercial projects since 2005, and such a process helps commercial projects fit in with neighborhoods.


We look for street trees separating the curb and sidewalk, for example, Palmquist says. Other city requirements for commercial projects include ground-floor windows and paying attention to other architectural details, such as careful selection of building materials, to break up visually large walls, she says.


The citys 11-member design-review committee meets twice a month to review proposed projects and forwards its recommendations to the citys hearing examiner.


The committee looks at where a project is located on a site, and how the project might be received by neighbors, Palmquist says.


It also makes sure the landscaping works with the buildings and complements surrounding neighborhoods, she says.


Jason Strain, development coordinator for Vandervert Developments LLC, says that prominent Spokane company emphasizes landscaping and aesthetics in the projects it develops.


Wandermere Business Park, located on the west side of U.S. 395 in the Wandermere area, and Wandermere Village Shopping Center, on the east side of the highway, are Vanderverts current showcase developments, Strain says.


He says the projects incorporate stacked rock and big wooden beams to evoke a Northwest theme that fits with the wooded hillsides nearby.


It adds to the cost and that pushes up rent, but if its the best thing out there, I think retailers appreciate that, Strain says.


Other developments in a community can affect the designs of new projects, he says.


When we go into a new part of town, we look at whats going on in that area and adapt to it, Strain says.


Longtime Spokane developer and real estate executive Dave Black says use of a variety of building materials in a structures design can change its visual scale and enhance the aesthetics of a commercial project.


He points to the brick Tomlinson Black Real Estate building, at 3124 S. Regal, as an example of a newer structure that fits in well with its surroundings on the South Hill.


Black, cautions, however, about relying solely on zoning codes and design committees to direct development.


Tenants drive the marketplace, he says. Were not in a major metropolitan area. We dont have the luxury of build it and they will come.


Jim Frank, CEO of Greenstone Corp., a Liberty Lake-based residential and mixed-use development company, says landscaping can be more effective than architecture to screen big commercial developments.


As an example, he says commercial development along Country Vista Drive east of Liberty Lake Drive is lined with green strips that separate sidewalks from curbs. Commercial development there includes a 102,000-square-foot Home Depot Inc. store and a 56,000-square-foot Ashley Furniture HomeStore outlet adjacent to one another on the north side of Country Vista.


Trees on the inside of sidewalks buffer the commercial development from the street further. Such landscaping is less costly than complicated architecture that might not provide the intended results, Frank asserts.


At the end of the day, a box is still a box, he says. The cost to provide a landscape buffer is insignificant compared to land and building costs.


Miller Stauffer Architects PA, of Coeur dAlene, designed the 30,000-square-foot Hayden Creek Plaza office and retail center on four acres at the northeast corner of Prairie Avenue and Government Way, in Hayden, Idaho. The centers design makes use of stone, timbers, and premium roofing products, says Dick Stauffer, a principal in Miller Stauffer.


Just being responsible involves meeting with clients, not only to discuss whats viable, but to do things that are well-received by the public, Stauffer says.


Such design enhancements can add 15 percent to typical construction costs, but are returned in rent, he contends.


Architecture helps you be surrounded by like-minded businesses that think the architecture is part of their business, he says. They have a good product and want good atmosphere, too.


That design is having effects on other projects, he says.


Hayden Creek has had so much response from people seeing it that its influencing other developments in the community, he says.


Contact Mike McLean at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at mikem@spokanejournal.com.