Spokane developer Dick Vandervert is ready to breathe new life into two long-dormant buildings in the citys core.


With an anchor tenant in hand, a newly formed company headed by Vandervert is taking on an anticipated $9.2 million office-building project involving the vacant J.J. Newberry Co. and Lamonts Apparel Inc. buildings downtown.


The new company, CentrePlace LLC, plans to rehabilitate the adjacent three-story buildings, located along Riverside Avenue between Wall and Howard streets, into a single structure, and add two additional floors. The resulting five-story, 100,000-square-foot Class A office building will be called CentrePlace, says Tim Stulc, a project manager with Vandervert Construction Inc., which Vandervert also heads.


Bank of Whitman, a Colfax, Wash.-based bank, has agreed to lease the entire first floor of the new structure for a full-service bank branch, and might lease additional floor space on the second floor, Stulc says. Vandervert is in negotiations with other potential tenants, he says.


The Lamonts and Newberry buildings both have sat vacant since 1996. For some time, a company called Riverside 89 LLC had planned to redevelop the buildings, first into a 75,000-square-foot office building of the original three stories, and later into the five-story structure thats expected now. When it disclosed the larger plan late last year, the company was courting Paine, Hamblen, Coffin, Brooke & Miller LLP, Spokanes largest law firm, as an anchor tenant for the building. Soon thereafter, however, Paine Hamblen announced that it would lease additional space in the Washington Trust Final Center, at 717 W. Sprague, and consolidate its operations there.


Al Payne, managing partner of Riverside 89, declines for now to comment on the Vandervert-led project.


Stulc says some of the people involved in Riverside 89 also are involved in the new development company.


He says Vandervert Construction hopes to start work next month on stripping the facades of the buildings and also start some structural upgrades. He says the company expects to have the project fully under construction in July.


The CentrePlace project is a rare foray into the citys core for Vandervert. The Spokane developer has constructed a number of retail centers and office buildings in the Spokane area, but the vast majority of them have been located in suburban areas.


ALSC Architects PS, of Spokane, designed the renovation.


Taking space on the ground floor of the redeveloped building will be a big step for Bank of Whitman, says James Tribbett, the banks chairman, president, and CEO.


We intend to continue to increase our presence in the Spokane market, he says. We felt this was a great opportunity to help with the revitalization of downtown Spokane and further develop our business strategy.


Bank of Whitman currently operates two branches in the Spokane area, one at 8727 W. U.S. 2, on the West Plains, and the other at 605 E. Holland, on Spokanes far North Side. Tribbett says the planned downtown branch would be the banks largest, but hes unsure for now how many people the branch would employ.


The new branch likely would open sometime next year, Tribbett says. The banks corporate headquarters will remain in Colfax for the time being, he says.