The Spokane Transit Authority’s downtown bus plaza is in the midst of a two-phase remodeling project that began in May and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2017. 

The project is estimated to cost almost $5 million, including design, engineering, and construction. Walker Construction Inc., of Spokane, is the contractor for the project. 

Brandon Rapez-Betty, spokesman for the STA, says the first phase that’s currently underway includes work on the building’s second-floor spaces, starting with the demolition of the old A-Tac Luggage Co. store space, which will be converted into security offices. 

Rapez-Betty says the second floor’s mobility training center, which helps seniors and persons with disabilities to plan for easy transit use, will remain at its current location. He says the customer-service and bus pass sales desk on the second floor will be made into new offices for the STA customer-service call center. 

 “A partition will be built to close off the additional rotunda space, and we hope to use that area as a gathering place for community and private events until a new long-term tenant can be found,” he says. 

The two other stores currently on the second floor, Pizza Rita’s and Joe’s Mini Market, will remain open until construction is completed, he says, at which point they may move down to added first floor retail spaces.

Rapez-Betty says leasing of the new retail spaces will be handled by NAI Black, of Spokane, which is still in the process of confirming plans with each store. 

 “Additional minor project elements are in the works now, but the significant portion of construction will come in phase two, which is likely to start sometime in June,” says Rapez-Betty. 

The next phase will see the building’s Sprague entrance closed temporarily, with signage directing customers to enter through the Wall and Riverside entrances, as work impacts interior waiting areas. 

Rapez-Betty says the first-floor renovations will include a new waiting area at the Sprague Avenue entrance, featuring large exterior windows, so customers can see arriving and departing buses, as well as signage indicating arrival times. 

New restrooms also will be added on the first floor for public use, and those on the second floor will be reserved for staff use.

In the project’s second phase, the building’s centrally located escalator will be removed and replaced by a smaller escalator along the south wall, near the building’s Sprague entrance, Rapez-Betty says. That will open up the building’s atrium and make way for new retail spaces and interior waiting areas, he says.

Rapez-Betty says STA officials are working with artist Ken Spiering to incorporate the building’s familiar bronze cougars into a new feature near the elevators. Spiering designed the two cougars, which are currently part of a stream-scape along the building’s central escalator. 

“The first floor will have five new retail spaces, three on the west wall, including the Subway location, which will stay the same,” says Rapez-Betty. “One new space will be added to the first-floor rotunda area, and another will be near the new escalator.” 

Rapez-Betty says all customer-related functions will be moved to the first floor, which includes moving the customer service operations down to the first floor security area. 

The project’s first phase shouldn’t have any significant impact to customers, Rapez-Betty says, and doesn’t include any changes to bus loading zones or schedules.

“People will begin to see the construction, but it won’t impact them,” he says. 

He adds that STA buses will continue to use the plaza as a hub for bus routes throughout the construction, and afterward, the bus loading areas on both Sprague and Riverside will remain in their current locations. 

During the second construction phase, temporary interior walls will be constructed to block construction areas, and a walking corridor will be created with access to waiting spaces, the stairwell, and elevators. There also will be an information hub in the first floor rotunda, signage posted to help orientate customers, and a website where people can go to check on construction news and updates. 

Rapez-Betty also warns that certain items customers are accustomed to seeing around the plaza will be inaccessible during construction, such as an ATM machine, pay phones, and a postal drop box. He says STA intends to keep a Spokane County voting ballot drop box that’s located within the Wall Street entryway, although its location might change.