Community Health Association of Spokane plans to build a new, 91,700-square-foot health care training facility, to be called the CHAS Health Learning Institute, at the Iron Bridge Office Campus, says Tamitha Shockley French, director of communications for CHAS Health.

The site at 731 N. Iron Bridge Way is located on a portion of the 23-acre office campus along the east side of the Spokane River, about a block north of Union Gospel Mission Men’s Shelter and Recovery Center in East Spokane.

The project currently is in the design phase. Spokane Valley-based construction company Divcon Inc. is the contractor on the project. ALSC Architects, of Spokane, is the architect, Shockley French says.

The estimated construction value of the health care training facility is $9 million, and financing for the development has been primarily secured through a bank loan, she says.

No timeframe has been set for CHAS Health to begin operating in the new building yet.

She says the organization hopes to secure permit approval in the next month, and the exterior shell is expected to take about nine months to construct once permits are issued. Interior construction will begin later, she says. 

The health care training facility will accommodate CHAS Health’s apprenticeship programs, clinical training areas, and both medical and telehealth support teams, with enough space to support more than 200 people.

Although the designs haven’t been finalized, the organization envisions four 150-square-foot medical training exam rooms, four 224-square-foot dental training operatories, a full sterilization area, and a laboratory, Shockley French says.

The program planned for the new building is intended to alleviate the local health care industry’s skilled workforce shortage through its one-year apprenticeship programs, in which students learn on-the-job training. Following the successful completion of the program, apprentices will transition to regular, full-time employees for CHAS Health, Shockley French says. 

The new facility will accommodate CHAS Health’s growing apprenticeship programs for pharmacy technicians, information technology staff, and billing and coding staff. It also will allow for more room for residency programs, continuing education space for current providers, and CPR and mental health first aid certification programs.

The health care provider also plans to move staff currently working in leased office space at Rock Pointe Corporate Center to the new building. CHAS Health’s administration building also is located on the Iron Bridge Office Campus, at 611 N. Iron Bridge Way.

“CHAS Health has had a need for additional space for administration and training purposes for a while,” Shockley French says. 

Project Updates

•Wilbur Road Self Storage LLC has been issued a commercial building permit for the expansion of its storage facility at 1710 N. Wilbur Road, in Spokane Valley, says owner Jay Rambo.

“Business is good here,” Rambo says, adding that the storage facility has leased nearly all of its 180 total units.

Rambo says once construction is complete, Wilbur Road Self Storage will have about 300 total storage units.

The estimated cost of phase 3 is about $1.3 million, Rambo says. For both phases 3 and 4, the cost is about $2.4 million, he adds. 

Wilbur Road Self Storage currently is working on phase 3 with the construction of a two-story, 21,600-square-foot storage building, according to permit data. Phase 4 will bring the total number of storage buildings to nine at the site, according to permit data.

Wilbur Road Self Storage LLC is the project owner and contractor. Rambo says the company is working with Rolled Steel Products Inc., of Spokane, which is providing some architectural and engineering services, as well as supplying metal products for construction.

Construction of phase 3 is expected to be complete by the end of summer, he says. Phase 4 will begin in 2023. 

•The city of Spokane has issued a commercial building permit for tenant improvements at a 15,000-square-foot space for a new Petco Animal Supplies Stores Inc. building at Northtown Square, at 4727 N. Division.

A Petco store currently is located at 6302 N. Division. A customer service representative there says operations at the current location will move to Northtown Square by the end of the year. 

Permit documents list the remodel project value at $750,000.

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