Ten years after his initial proposal was scuttled by a tumbling real estate market and opposition from Peaceful Valley neighbors, Spokane developer Mick McDonnell has begun work again on his major, 17-story condominium project at 1404 W. Riverside in downtown Spokane. The $20 million project will add 52 units to this quickly-revitalizing area of the West End. Other area projects include the West End Lofts, a brewery incubator and ceviche bar, and a number of other proposals.

The 1400 Tower will include 275,000 square feet of total space, and Mick McDowell hopes to start constrution in the autumn of this year. In addition, the project in its current form includes three stories of underground parking, totaling 76 spaces, accessed from the Peaceful Valley. This works out to around 1.5 parking spaces per unit. It’s worth asking whether that’s more parking than is necessary for an urban-designed, downtown condominium complex with numerous other parking garages within a block or two. Is it worth the potential traffic inconvenience to Peaceful Valley residents when there are other secure parking garages nearby? Perhaps McDowell could make a deal with one of the nearby garages for discounted overnight parking. This would reduce the impact to other neighborhoods and encourage more people to use transit, walk, and bike to work. (And when the complex is downtown, that shouldn’t be too much to ask.)

Either way, we’re excited for the prospects of the 1400 Tower, and we look forward to its completion. As the West End turns a corner and Spokane’s housing market heats up, we can only hope for increased activity there and in the rest of the city.

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SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Are you excited for the 1400 Tower to get started? What do you think could improve the proposal? — retail? a restaurant? units for rent or lease? a different front entry? a larger public area? Share your thoughts in the comments below, on Facebook, on Twitter, and in person. We love to hear from you!

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