A handful of bars and restaurants in the Spokane area have used the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to remodel and deep-clean their spaces, sometimes using Paycheck Protection Program loan funds to pay employees to help with the work.

Representatives of Spokane real estate companies say the move to digital operations during Gov. Jay Inslee's Stay Home, Stay Safe mandate was a simple shift that required better use of existing technology.

A $10 million office building is envisioned along the 900 block of north Monroe Street, north of downtown Spokane. Spokane-based architectural design firm Uptic Studios Inc. is the project architect.

Spokane Valley-based AT Acquisitions LLC is planning a 187,000-square-foot industrial building on the West Plains, says Aaron Lake, co-founder of the company, which does business as AT Industrial.

As more custom paperboard packaging manufacturers are bought out by large conglomerates, Spokane-based Sonderen Packaging Inc. intends to stick to its vision of remaining 'fiercely independent,” says principal and co-owner Keva Sonderen.

Spokane-area manufacturers that serve the aerospace industry say they're staying aloft for now and feeling somewhat optimistic about the long term, even as new orders for aircraft and components have taken a nosedive.

Several Spokane-area manufacturers say most of their employees are in environments where being at a distance from each other has been the norm because of already established workplace configurations.

As one of the founding partners of SPVV Landscape Architects, Tom Sherry says in some regards, the firm may not be where it is today were it not for his former mentor at another firm.

Geotechnical and construction engineering firm Strata Inc. has been overhauling its leadership and culture for the past three years, and recently-promoted chief operating officer Paxton Anderson says the company is starting to see an improvement

Two Spokane-area architecture practices-small design firm Fusion Architecture PLLC and larger design company NAC Architecture-are remodeling or expanding their offices to foster more collaborative environments, their respective representatives say.