Construction is expected to begin this month on two, three-story apartment buildings in Spokane Valley, and work has begun on a retail center in north Spokane, says Jeff McCloskey, president of Spokane-based McCloskey Construction Inc.

McCloskey is an owner of Olive & Riverside Investors LLC and Wandermere Retail Investors LLC, the real estate holding companies that own the apartment projects and retail development, respectively.

Jeff Johnson, president of real estate brokerage Black Commercial Inc., which does business as NAI Black, is also the managing member of Olive & Riverside Investors and an owner of Wandermere Retail Investors.

Johnson says one apartment building will be located at 12407 E. Riverside and will consist of 12 units. The second building will contain 24 units and be located on the 0.7-acre lot directly east of auto repair company Tune Tech Inc., at 420 N. Pines Road, in Spokane Valley. The apartment structures will have a combined total of 35,600 square feet of rentable space. Half of the units in each building will have one bedroom, and the other half will have two bedrooms.

Olive & Riverside Investors specializes in apartment developments that have between 36 and 72 units, he says.

“We do put a little more cost into our units than some people,” he asserts. “We don’t buy off-the-shelf plans. We design the plans for each project, and we try to put in some nice features that might not be in some of our other competitors’ products.”

McCloskey says both upcoming apartment buildings will include wide stairwells, 9-foot-high ceilings, and skylights. They will also include attics, air conditioning units, decks, and ceiling fans on the third floor.

Construction is anticipated to be completed in July of next year, says Johnson. McCloskey Construction is the contractor, and Mercier Architecture & Planning, of Spokane Valley, is the architect for both apartment projects.

Up north, construction has started on a 6,800-square-foot retail building at 11921 N. Division, in Wandermere, says Johnson. The developers have secured franchise fitness studio The Barre Code as a tenant, as well as a coffee shop, and a quick-serve restaurant. They also are working with a national tenant for another portion of the building.

Amy Newbold Cathey, franchisee and trainer for The Barre Code, says the fitness studio is geared toward women and offers barre class-type workouts with different themes, such as cardio or strength training. It also offers restorative workouts such as yoga. Cathey describes barre classes as a fusion of ballet and Pilates that focuses on “accessory muscles” and high repetition exercise to develop a lean look.

“I’ve always had a passion for entrepreneurship and fitness, and I love Spokane so much, so when my husband and I made the decision to move back here, it felt like the right time to do this,” says Cathey. “I feel pretty passionate about the products that The Barre Code has. It’s a really great one-of-kind fitness program.”

Johnson says construction on the retail center is planned to be completed in March 2019. McCloskey Construction Inc. and Mercier Planning & Architecture, are also the contractor and architect of that project, respectively.