Appleway Chevrolet Inc. is working on $3.6 million in construction and remodeling projects at its AutoNation Toyota Spokane Valley dealership at 8600 E. Sprague and on adjacent property, says Mike Turbak, Spokane Valley permit coordinator.

Representatives from the dealership didn't return calls by press time.

Stantec Inc., an international design firm with headquarters in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is the architect for all three projects, and Campbell, Calif.,-based Tashcon Corp. is the general contractor.

A $3.1 million demolition and remodel at the dealership includes tearing down the garage, first floor, and basement of the former Appleway Lexus building, Turbak says.

Work, which started earlier this summer, also includes demolishing part of the AutoNation Toyota building, with plans to construct a new Toyota showroom and service area, he says. When complete, building permit information shows the showroom building is expected to have 23,000 square feet of floor space.

Spokane County Assessor's Office data show the Toyota and Lexus showrooms previously had a combined 11,100 square feet.

Turbak says the dealership also is building a new remote sales office and detached carport nearby at 8511 E. Appleway, south of the new showroom structure.

Building permit information for the two projects show the combined cost at almost $500,000. Turbak says the remote sales building and carport will each be 2,000 square feet.

Assessor's office records show the Toyota dealership sits on an almost 2-acre site.

Appleway Chevrolet operates eight other dealerships in Spokane and Spokane Valley besides AutoNation Toyota, including AutoNation Mazda Spokane Valley and AutoNation Subaru Spokane Valley.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,-based AutoNation Inc. acquired the chain of Appleway dealerships in 1997, but continued to operate under the Appleway brand.

The Appleway Chevrolet website says it started doing business under the AutoNation name this year.

AutoNation is a national automotive dealer. It announced in January it would begin marketing all of its franchises under the AutoNation brand, and an AutoNation fourth quarter conference call transcript shows the company expected to have all its franchises rebranded by June of this year.