Spokane businessman Terry Tombari and his wife, TJ Tombari, plan to develop a $5 million retail center at the northwest corner of 44th Avenue and Regal Street, on Spokanes South Hill. Work on the project was to start this week, and the complex is expected to be ready for business in September.


Terry and TJ Tombari are developing the three-building, 18,700-square-foot center, to be called The Village at Regal Pond, through a company called Regal 1 LLC. Terry Tombari says Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar, of Spokane, has committed to occupy one of the three buildings, while another one of the structures is expected to house a bank branch, and the third will have five smaller tenants.


The other partners in Regal 1 LLC are Steve Gevurtz and Jack and Norma Snead, Terry Tombari says.


He says some space is still available and that hes not at liberty to divulge the other tenants names at this time.


The complex will have a Tuscan look, with an outdoor plaza and a fountain, and the buildings exteriors will be finished on all sides to create focus on both the Regal side and the western side, which faces the big Adirondack apartment complex and a one-acre manmade pond there with its own fountains, Tombari says.


Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar, which already operates restaurants downtown and on the North Side, will be the only tenant in the complexs center two-story structure, which will have about 7,400 square feet of space and will include a place for outdoor seating overlooking the pond, he says.


A one-story building to be built to the north of the Twigs building has been designed for five tenants and will have a total of about 7,800 square feet of space, with some available outdoor caf seating there as well. The third building, located nearest to the intersection, will have about 3,500 square feet of floor space, and, according to a site plan, could house a bank branch.


Vandervert Construction Inc., of Spokane, is the contractor for the project, and Bernardo-Wills Architects PC, also of Spokane, designed it. Tombari Properties will be responsible for its leasing and management.


The center will be built on land that once was part of the KHQ-TV property. The stations former main television studio, located to the north of the planned center, now houses Educational Service District 101. The property is directly north of the Southgate Shopping Center and cater-cornered to a ShopKo Stores Inc. outlet.