A Spokane couple say they plan this summer to open a nonprofit events facility, to be called the Service Station, along Nevada Street on Spokanes North Side, and work on the $1.9 million building that will house it is under way.


Scot Robinson, who is opening the Service Station with his wife, Debi, says the venue will include an auditorium, conference rooms, a multimedia studio, and a coffee shop with an outdoor patio. Service, in this instance, refers to serving the community, not selling gas.


Construction of the two-story, 18,000-square-foot building, located at 9315 N. Nevada, a few blocks southeast of the Northpointe Plaza shopping center, is scheduled to be completed in July.


Robinson says Spokane businessman Mike Genova, who owns spa-accessory maker Leisure Concepts Inc., is developing the building and will lease it to the Service Station. Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, is the design-build contractor on the project.


The auditorium, which will be at the buildings west end and will have a mezzanine level, will include a 2,400-square-foot stage and seating for between 500 and 600 people, Robinson says. As a concert venue, in which some seats will be removed and patrons will stand in front of the stage, that room likely will hold up to 800 people, he says.


At the east end of the building, the first floor will have a 120-seat coffee shop with a small stage for live music. An outdoor patio connected to the coffee shop will have an additional 30 seats.


The second floor will include one large conference room for up to about 120 people and three smaller conference rooms that each will be able to accommodate about 30 people. The multimedia studio will be used for music and video production. Robinson says some people here involved in audio and video recording have expressed interest in having such a facility on the North Side.


Robinson says the Service Station will employ about 10 people when it opens, and that likely will grow to 15 to 25 workers once activity picks up.


The Robinsons have formed a nonprofit organization through which theyll operate the Service Station, and Robinson says profits from its operations will be donated.


Robinson most recently worked as a pastor at First Church of the Open Bible.