Sunshine Health Facilities Inc. is expanding its portfolio with the development of a new 63-unit assisted-living facility, dubbed Sunshine on Raymond, to help meet a growing need for residential assisted care in Spokane Valley.

Dr. Nathan Dikes, president and CEO of Sunshine Health, says the assisted-living facility will be licensed to accommodate the care of 71 residents who will live in studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units in the new building.

The facility also will have multiuse gathering areas, a dining room, a library, an activities and crafts room, a salon, a fitness room, and offer 24-hour care. 

A 111-year-old structure that previously held an old Spokane University women's dorm building has been demolished at a 1-acre site to make way for the new $14 million, 46,500-square-foot senior care building.

The former university, also known as Spokane Bible College, operated as a four-year liberal arts college to train ministers for Christian churches. After its closure in 1933, the school's facilities were merged with the newly formed Spokane Junior College, according to the Spokane Historical website, which is part of a public history project at Eastern Washington University.

Valley Christian School currently occupies a portion of the old college campus, along with Sunshine Health Facilities.

Groundwork for the three-story Sunshine on Raymond project, located at 10507 E. 11th, is already underway, with an anticipated opening slated for June 2026, says Dikes.

The city of Spokane Valley issued a commercial building permit for Sunshine on Raymond last month.

"We're going to continue with the footings and foundation by March," says Dikes, adding that vertical construction is expected to begin by May.

The property lies east of Raymond Road, across the street from Sunshine Health Facility's existing health care campus, where the company has a skilled nursing unit, enhanced assisted living and memory care, assisted living for behavioral health clients, adult family homes, a certified home health agency, and a wellness and recovery program.

Sunshine Health Facilities currently has 252 beds in Spokane Valley, and the company cares for 340 home health clients.

Sunshine Health Facilities is working with Deer Park-based general contractor Blew's Construction & Development LLC and Spokane-based Kirkwood Rodell Architects PS, which does business as Sam Rodell Architects.

The building is being designed with a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency through the use of hemp building materials, an advanced heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system, and a certified passive house design.

"It will be very energy efficient and comfortable for our residents with probably the cleanest air you can get," Dikes says. 

Sunshine Health Facilities is benefitting from multiple longtime relationships with a variety of companies to bring the project to life.

Mark McLees, of NAI Black, worked with Sunshine Health Facilities on the purchase of the development site, says Dikes, adding that Spokane Valley-based Jewell Excavating & Construction Inc. is handling groundwork; and Banner Bank is financing the development. 

Additionally, Clyde Haase, former owner of Haase Landscape Inc., is a project consultant, along with Spokane-based SPVV Landscape Architects, says Dikes.

Olivia Dikes, growth and innovation specialist at Sunshine Health and Nathan Dikes' daughter, is helping with the interior design of the new facility.

Olivia Dikes is a recent University of San Francisco graduate who earned a Bachelor of Arts in architecture. Her work on the project involves helping with lighting design, material selection, and creating an environment that the company's 280 employees want to work in, she says.

By prioritizing employees, Sunshine Health Facilities aims to ensure it can provide quality care for the people they serve, Nathan Dikes says.

"We're a service business," he says. "You would think the first thing would be the residents, but no, my first pillar is to be the employer of choice ... then the provider of choice."

Project updates:

*Corwin of Spokane LLC, which does business as Corwin Ford Spokane, is planning a new service facility at a vacant lot across the street from the company's existing dealership at 8300 E. Sprague, in Spokane Valley.

Tyler Goutermout, general manager of Corwin Ford, says the Ford dealer wants to reduce service wait times and increase capacity to better serve customers.

"Right now, we're in the planning stages," he says of the new service facility to be located on the 8100 block of east Sprague Avenue. 

Previously occupied by a pawn shop, the land for the facility was purchased for $1.2 million in October 2024 with Mark McLees, of NAI Black, and Francesca Baier, of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices First Look Real Estate, both representing the seller in the transaction.   

That building has been demolished.

Corwin Ford doesn't yet have a budget for the project and is not working with a contractor or architect yet either, he says.

Corwin Ford's current service department has 36 service stalls on the dealer's existing 9-acre lot. The planned new facility will add another 16 bays and require the hiring of as many new service team members.

"If you need a vehicle service right now, there's a long wait to it. ... Sometimes even just a simple oil change you could be scheduling two weeks out," Goutermout says.

The new service facility is anticipated to open in early 2026.