A new Trader Joe’s grocery store is under consideration at a former Shopko building in Spokane Valley, at 13414 E. Sprague, a permit application on file with the city of Spokane Valley shows.

The tenant improvement project is valued at an estimated cost of $700,000, according to permit information.

Coval SV LLC, of Danville, California, owns the existing 21,500-square-foot building, according to Spokane County Assessor's Office records.  

Representatives listed on the permit application, which was submitted Nov. 12, could not be immediately reached for comment.

“(The Spokane Valley economic development team) has been working towards recruiting high-end retailers out in the Valley market,” says Lance Beck, president and CEO of Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce. “When you look at Trader Joe’s, they’re obviously an extremely selected brand and their decision to enter the Valley sends a strong signal about our market strength overall out here. The brand itself, obviously, will bring us good quality jobs.”

Founded in 1967 in Pasadena, California, the Trader Joe's grocery store chain is currently headquartered in Monrovia, California.

If approved, the new grocery store will be the company’s fourth location in the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene market. Its first location opened on the South Hill in 2011, at 2975 E. 29th. Its second location opened on the North Side, at 5520 N. Division, in 2016. Last year, Trader Joe's opened a store in Coeur d'Alene, at 303 E. Spokane.

Beck says the city’s economic development team partners with Retail Strategies LLC, a Birmingham, Alabama-based consulting firm that works with the city to attract national retailers to the area. The partnership has proven effective to attract large retailers, such as Dave & Buster’s, to operate in Spokane Valley.

“It’s certainly a win for the entire Valley retail ecosystem,” Beck adds.