Construction is under way on a Panda Express restaurant on the southwest corner of Sprague Avenue and Carnahan Road, the first of two retail structures planned on a 1.25-acre site west of a Lowe's Cos. home-improvement store in Spokane Valley.

Chad Carper, a real estate broker at Kiemle & Hagood Co., says work on the 2,500-square-foot restaurant, at 5016 E. Sprague, began last month. In mid-November, construction hadn't started yet on the planned retail center, which is envisioned as a 5,000-square-foot structure next to the restaurant.

"We're working with prospective tenants now," Carper says. "We're approaching it as a three-bay building, but it can be occupied by one."

Building permit information at the city of Spokane Valley estimates construction cost at $289,000 for the Panda Express restaurant. The owner of the property is CFT Developments LLC, of Rosemead, Calif., documents filed with the city show.

James E. John Construction Co. Inc., of Vancouver, Wash., is the general contractor on the restaurant project, and Reiter Design Group Architects Inc., of Beaverton, Ore., designed it.

The city didn't yet have an estimated value listed for the retail building this week, because only preliminary paperwork for that project was on file, says city of Spokane Valley's Deanna Griffith.

Both Carper and Jim Quigley, also of Kiemle & Hagood, are the leasing agents for the property.

Panda Restaurant Group Inc. has nearly 1,400 restaurants throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico, including six in the Spokane area and two in Coeur d'Alene area, the corporation's website says.