Freds Appliance Inc., of Spokane, plans to move its Coeur dAlene store into the former Rosauers Supermarkets Inc. building at the busy corner of U.S. 95 and Appleway in November.


Freds Appliance will lease about 9,000 square feet of floor space there, says John Amistoso, the Spokane companys president and owner. It currently leases about 4,000 square feet of space at 6235 N. Sunshine, in a small retail center located just south of Silver Lake Mall, for its Coeur dAlene store.


Amistoso believes the new location will boost the companys North Idaho sales.


We anticipate with the better location we will have higher visibility, he says. The growth in that area has been incredible.


The companys current Coeur dAlene store employs six people. Amistoso says the company likely will hire about a half-dozen additional employees for the new store, including a delivery crew designated for North Idaho.


The 60,000-square-foot former supermarket building will undergo an about $1 million renovation before Freds Appliance moves in, says the buildings owner, David Black, CEO and chairman of Tomlinson Black Commercial Inc., of Spokane. Work on the upgrades is expected to start soon, Black says.


The project will include reconfiguring the buildings interior and adding new facades and additional parking spaces, Black says. Were going to tear out the entire west wall.


So far, however, Freds Appliance is the only business to agree to move into the building. Black says hes negotiating with several possible tenants for the remaining space in the building. He declines to name them.


Retail stores are preferred (as tenants) and I see it as a home center, Black says. There could be a furniture store, or a carpet center.


The size of the structure will be reduced by about 10,000 square feet to accommodate additional parking, Black says.


The building currently has about 350 parking spaces, and the project calls for 78 additional parking spaces.


Brown Contracting & Development Corp., of Spokane, will make the upgrades. Bernado-Wills Architects PC, of Spokane, designed the project.


Black says he bought the building from Rosauers Supermarkets Inc. about three years ago.


Freds Appliance has enjoyed strong growth and is planning additional stores in the Spokane area, Amistoso says. He says the company plans to open a store in Spokane Valley soon, but declines to say where it will be, when it will open, or how big it will be.


Freds Appliance built a 33,000-square-foot warehouse about six months ago at 2524 N. Dakota in North Spokane to handle increasing growth and demand, Amistoso says.


Freds Appliance expects revenues this year of $16 million to $20 million, up roughly 25 percent from last year, says Amistoso.


In addition to its Coeur dAlene store, the company has three Spokane stores, at 2525 N. Monroe, 2601 N. Monroe, and 3117 N. Division.