Inspired Solutions Inc., a Spokane-based durable medical equipment company that does business as The Careshop, has leased the former 14th & Grand Salon building on the South Hill for a new retail location.

The 8,600-square-foot, two-story building at 1337 S. Grand Blvd. also is under renovations for the company’s new business division, called The Careshop Health & Wellness Cooperative LLC, which will operate at the property, says Julie Blaakman, CEO of The Careshop.

“The space will have health care professionals and health care service providers working together as a cooperative,” Blaakman says.

The company will focus on recruiting health care-related businesses to join as cooperative members and vendors to serve clients and customers under one roof, says Blaakman.

She says the company will continue to operate its retail space located on the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital campus, on the main floor of the hospital’s west tower, at 101 W. Eighth. The new store will occupy about 1,600 square feet of first-floor retail space at the Grand Boulevard location, where it will operate a second storefront to sell its medical equipment and supplies.

The niche medical equipment company has four employees and offers nursing supplies, CPAP systems and supplies, walkers, canes, crutches, and cancer recovery supplies.

Renovations inside the building began in January and are anticipated to wrap up in March. Blaakman says cooperative members could move in as soon as April.

The estimated cost of renovations is about $100,000, Blaakman says.

Spokane-based CasaCano LLC is the contractor for the tenant improvements, according to building permit documents.

Tenant improvements include removing salon equipment, constructing seven office spaces and a conference room, and remodeling common areas, including a wellness room with a library, two laundry facilities, and a kitchen.

Sam Morse, commercial real estate broker at Cantu Commercial Properties LLC, represented both Blaakman and the landlord in the lease transaction, she says.

Blaakman says her vision for the cooperative involves operating the building through a membership model, similar to a coworking facility, except instead of a wide variety of companies using the facility, The Careshop Health & Wellness Cooperative’s member businesses all will be related to health care and wellness.

Prices to join the cooperative begin at $300 per month, and membership costs will vary depending on the spaces members will need access to, she adds.

She says she hopes the cooperative will attract a mix of physicians, massage therapists, acupuncturists, psychologists, nutritionists, and consultants. The building also has space for health care-related retailers, such as Once Upon a Shoe, which joined the cooperative as a vendor at the beginning of February. The retailer is based in Hayden, and sells shoes, insoles, and compression socks.

“Within the cooperative, there will be opportunities to cross refer,” claims Blaakman. “There will be a variety of modalities to treat (a) person as a whole, rather than just (with) a product or a treatment.”

Blaakman says the cooperative will have 19 memberships available in total.

“I’m so excited because this space is … absolutely perfect for the vision that I had,” she says.

Project update

The city of Spokane Valley has issued a building permit for Appleway Chevrolet Inc. for a $1.5 million remodel project at a warehouse at 125 N. Dyer Road.

The permit application details plans to convert the warehouse into an automobile parts storage and distribution center with office spaces, a storage mezzanine, and a loading dock for shipping and delivery.

The warehouse is about 1 1/2 miles west of the Appleway Chevrolet dealership.

Rycon Construction Inc., a Pittsburgh-based construction company, is the contractor on the project.