Tod Stephens: The Dirt: Circle K convenience store opens in Post Falls
Mar. 18—Just east of the Idaho border, a new Circle K convenience store has opened that could entice Washington drivers with Idaho gas prices.
At 70 N. Beck Road in Post Falls, the location will offer five fueling stations each equipped with 24 gas pumps and high-speed diesel options, according to a news release from Meridian Construction & Development, which built the store.
The location is near the Beck Road and Interstate 90 interchange that was opened in 2012. At the time, Cabela's was largely the only business in the area, according to previous Spokesman-Review reports.
Today, the area hosts Wal-Mart, Sysco Spokane, Panda Express and Post Falls RV Campground.
As for the Circle K, additional amenities to the new store include a 24-hour high-pressure car wash, soda and slushy station and freshly roasted coffee with beans freshly ground by Kwanda Coffee, according to the news release.
The 5,200-square-foot building will offer a walk-in beer cave and hot food station, providing various options from hot dogs to club sandwiches, according to the release.
With the addition of the Post Falls store, Circle K now operates seven stores in the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene area. Company officials also announced plans to introduce up to five more stores over the next two years. Circle K has more than 7,100 locations across the U.S., according to the company.
The Post Falls project is the second collaboration between Meridian Construction and Circle K following a project at 9620 N. Division St. in Spokane.
University District development
Plans have been submitted to the City of Spokane for a 298-unit apartment complex in the University District.
Plans were submitted Thursday for a five story apartment building at 1015 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
Other plans were submitted for the same property in 2020 to build another five story building. The plans were fully reviewed by the city and permits were issued in January of 2021. After they expired, permits were reissued in May of 2022, according to city records.
The project was dubbed the District by Phoenix-based development firm, Sagamore Capital.
The dense, mixed-use development is on about 13 acres of land on the south side of the Spokane River just east of downtown. It once was the home of the Spokane Manufactured Gas Plant and the American Tar Co., according to Spokesman-Review reports.
In 2016, part of the parcel that is set to become The District was dedicated for the construction of Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
Once finished, the development will house about 400 residents in the 298 units and provide a covered, private space with a dog park, play area, bocce ball court and volleyball court, according to reports.
It will add to the 770-acre University District that has been developed along the river in an area that once was a mix of railroad tracks and warehouses.
"The District is helping fulfill our mission to make the University District the preferred live, learn, work, play urban environment in the Intermountain Northwest," Lars Gilberts told The Spokesman-Review in 2020, the University District's CEO at the time. "This also delivers on Spokane's 50-year push to transform our rail yards into a vibrant and walkable urban core along the Spokane River."
The project was estimated to cost $45 million.
"I really think that it addresses our housing needs, not only in the University District but also citywide," then-city councilwoman Candace Mumm said in 2020. "A place to put 400 people in a very condensed space that would provide services is something I think the city is always looking for."
The project designer is Gale Stanley, associate principal of Spokane-based ALSC Architects.