Lake Spokane Properties LLC, of Suncrest, says it plans to develop a $10 million retail complex, to be called Lake Spokane Center, in that growing area northwest of Spokane.


The company expects to begin work on the $5 million first phase of the development later this summer, says Mike Baumgarden, a real estate broker and managing partner of Lake Spokane Properties.


The company will develop the retail center on 10 acres of land on the east side of state Route 291, just north of the Suncrest Fitness Center, Baumgarden says. It expects to construct four retail buildings with a total of 31,600 square feet of space in the first phase of the project and to add a 39,000-square-foot anchor building in the second phase.


Blews Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley, is the contractor for the first phase of work, and Castellaw Kom Architects, of Lewiston, Idaho, is designing the project. Site work is expected to begin later this month, with construction tentatively scheduled to start by September. Baumgarden says Lake Spokane Properties hopes to have the center ready for occupants next spring.


Baumgarden says the four buildings planned in the first phase will range in size from 7,000 to 9,000 square feet. A preliminary site plan for the project indicates a possible financial tenant in one of the buildings and up to 320 parking spaces for the entire 10-acre project.


Baumgarden says Lake Spokane Properties has commitments from several retailers, but declines to identify them. He says the partners have been seeking a grocery store tenant for the planned big-box store, but so far havent reached any agreements.


Altogether, Lake Spokane Properties owns a total of about 100 acres of land there, Baumgarden says. Ultimately, the property also will include some residential developments, he says.


Contact Jeanne Gustafson at (509) 344-1264 or via e-mail at jeanneg@spokanejournal.com.