The third iteration of a lower South Hill mixed-use project geared toward international tenants is moving forward, says Spokane developer Jordan Tampien.

Construction is set to start this spring on the Eastern Washington International Housing retail and residential project site, at 2020 W. Seventh, Tampien says. The site, which is currently vacant land, is at the northeast corner of Seventh Avenue and Cannon Street, east of the Vinegar Flats neighborhood.

“We think that Vinegar Flats location is an undiscovered little gem,” Tampien asserts. “We think this could help drive some traffic and redevelopment to that area.”

The nearly 32,000-square-foot, five-story building will have space on the ground floor for commercial tenants and some residential units, with additional residences occupying the upper four floors. In total, the project will have 37 living units, Tampien says.

Construction costs will be between $4.5 million and $6 million, and work will take about a year to complete, he says. The project could be expanded to include additional structures similar to the first proposed mixed-use building.

Tampien describes the residential model as “dorm meets apartments.” Each unit will have its own bathroom and kitchenette, with two larger kitchens available for community use.

According to planning documents filed with the city, about 2,000 square feet of space on the ground floor will be devoted to retail, with the remaining 4,300 square feet on that floor designated for residential space. Tampien says commercial tenants have not yet been identified.

Floors two through five also will be for residential space, for a total of about 30,000 square feet of living space.

Six years ago, the project originally had been envisioned as a seven-story, $12 million project with 11,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space and 52 living units. Plans were scaled back in 2018 to 14 residential units on three floors of a five-story building.

Namva Chan and her nephew, Jonathan Chan, are the project owners. Namva Chan owns a handful of businesses in Spokane, including Chan’s Dragon Inn restaurant downtown, Red Dragon restaurant in the Hillyard neighborhood, and Chinese Gardens restaurant in East Spokane.

Chan says some project details, including rent pricing, are still being determined, and she declines further comment.

As previously reported by the Journal, Chan had planned in 2018 to develop a five-story, $4.5 million mixed-use project at the site. To be called the Vinegar Flats Public Market, the building would have 56 residential units above a food court with ethnic restaurants that would be part of the first floor, as well as an 11,800-square-foot underground parking garage.

That was scaled back from the original 2015 vision for the project, a seven-story, $12 million building that would have a food court, underground parking garage, and 83 living units of various sizes and layouts, as well as 21 one-bedroom units designated for international exchange student housing. 

In a 2016 interview with the Journal, Jonathan Chan said investors sought to use money from an employment-based immigrant investor program called EB-5 as one source of project funding.

Through an EB-5 program, foreign investors can participate in a limited partnership that develops a large project for the expectation of securing U.S. citizenship.

It’s unclear whether the project will be funded through EB-5. Tampien referred questions regarding financing to Namva Chan; Chan didn’t immediately respond to the Journal’s request for comment on the subject. 

Tampien says the owners asked him to help modify the project and guide it through the planning process. They had seen some of his other projects progressing, and wanted help getting the Eastern Washington International Housing project off the ground, he says.

“I modified it from what I think was probably an aggressive program design with some higher-end amenities and some things that maybe the market wasn’t ready for,” Tampien says.

He says he changed the ground floor commercial space into a more “subdued” look and scaled back the size of the project slightly in order to focus on the residential aspects.

“It offers a housing option that should be a little more affordable for the med students, college students, and young professionals looking for a little different option than the market currently offers,” Tampien says.

Tampien says additional structures could be added at the site in the future if there’s enough demand; Namva Chan owns adjacent land just west of the Eastern Washington International Housing project site. 

“The site can expand to allow two more similar buildings, potentially one bigger building with more parking,” he says.

The neighborhood’s proximity to downtown Spokane and to Interstate 90, as well as access to public transit, increases the appeal for tenants seeking affordable rental options, Tampien says. It’s also good timing for moving projects like this forward, he says.

“With interest rates where they are and the demand where it’s at, it seemed like the best time to introduce the much-modified project,” he says.

Tampien says a contractor hasn’t been selected yet for the project, but he typically works with Spokane Valley-based T.W. Clark Construction LLC, which has put in a bid for the project.

Spokane-based Russell C. Page Architects PS designed the project. The Spokane office of TD&H Engineering is providing engineering services.

The exterior of the structure will include brick and wood elements, Tampien says. Because the project is located close to the interstate, acoustic elements such as noise-reducing windows will be installed to help dampen traffic noise, Tampien says.

According to planning documents, the structure will rise 71 feet and will block the view of the highway from the south.

An on-site parking lot will have 19 stalls, and six total parking stalls will be located on Seventh Avenue and on Cannon Street, planning documents show.

The neighborhood on Spokane’s lower South Hill known as Vinegar Flats is located just south of I-90, east of Latah Creek. 

According to Spokane Historical, a student-driven public history project from Eastern Washington University, the neighborhood gained its name in 1890, when it became home to the Keller-Lorenz Vinegar Works vinegar factory and its accompanying odor.