Developer plans apartments new North Central High School

The city of Spokane has approved plans for an apartment complex just north of downtown, near North Central High School.

Spokane-based Barnham Group plans to develop the 24-unit Wall Street Apartments complex on a vacant lot at 1405 N. Wall, which is two blocks southwest of North Central and one block north of the Value Village on Boone Street.

Nick Barnes, who co-owns and operates Spokane development company Barnham Group LLC with business partner Aaron Cunningham, says the 18,000-square-foot building will have four stories and cost an estimated $3 million to build.

Construction Services Inc., a subsidiary of Barnham Group, is the general contractor. Spokane-based Russell C. Page Architects PS is the project architect.

In August, the city expanded its multifamily tax-exemption zone, a program that offers an eight- to 12-year tax break to developers who rehabilitate or build four or more units of eligible multifamily housing. The goal of expanding the tax-abatement zone is to promote housing development in the urban core as Spokane continues to experience low vacancy rates.

“And quite frankly, the chance to do a project in the (city’s) tax abatement zone was really appealing,” says Barnes.

Barnes says the project calls for “high-end” units to be offered with a monthly rental price range of $950 to $1,500. The price varies depending on what floor residents reside on.

The complex is scheduled to have 20, 687-square-foot units with a single bedroom and bathroom. Four apartments will have two bedrooms and two bathrooms approaching 1,000 square feet. The fourth-floor units will have 14-foot, vaulted ceilings, he says.

“Some of those top-floor units promise to offer a sweeping view of downtown,” Barnes says.

Construction crews are expected to begin breaking ground between the end of November and early December on the estimated one-year project.

Meanwhile, construction is underway on the Hastings Apartments, a 24-unit apartment complex being built on a narrow, undeveloped slice of land at 1001 E. Hastings between Farwell and Hasting north of Spokane.

Colbert-based Boies Construction LLC is the general contractor on the estimated $3.5-million project. When finished, the project will have four buildings with six, two-story units with attached garages.