Spokane Building Boom Continues With a Variety of Projects

Spokane officials call the city's building boom a renaissance, but for Northwest contractors it's great business.

The fury of new construction first sparked in the late-1990s when city officials created the "Plan for a New Downtown" and the River Park Square shopping center broke ground. But with each completed project, the city continues drafting plans to revamp various areas.

This year, work continues on the $77 million convention center project, downtown revitalization construction efforts and the creation of a university district east of the city's central business district.

"The construction activity in Spokane is on a record pace," Tom Reese, Spokane economic development director. "There is a huge shortage of contractors and construction workers."

The convention center expansion, one of the city's largest projects, got under way early this year. Portland, Ore.-based Hoffman Construction of Portland, Ore. and Bouten Construction of Spokane have joined forces to serve as general contractor and project manager on the convention center expansion.

Even before the state required public buildings to use green building methods, the city decided to make the convention center a LEED-certified project. Built on the site of the first environmental world's fair, the construction process for the convention center focuses on reusing or recycling material from buildings demolished for the expansion. A percentage of the rebar is recycled and materials come from companies within a 500-mi. radius of the building.

Energy cost-saving methods will be used inside and out of the convention center.

On the exterior, lighter-colored roofing and paving materials that reflect sunlight rather than absorb it will help keep cooling costs at a minimum. The convention center interior will include mechanical systems to monitor building temperature and natural light levels to ensure the main energy consuming building systems are performing at their utmost efficiency. In addition, paint, carpet and wood materials that don't emit volatile organic compounds will be used to avoid producing fumes that can cause illness.

advertisement

Spokane Public Facilities District project manager Matthew Walker, said the structural steel portions will be finished this month and the building's skin will be completed in January. The building is slated to be open next August. The expansion will increase the building by 166,000-sq.-ft.

"Now the building is really starting to take shape and you can really see that," Walker said. "We've always been on the verge of not being able to go to the next level because we didn't have adequate space. Now we will."

The most noticeable feature of the new convention center's design is its elliptical-shaped roof, which is a highly efficient structural system that reduces the height of the building where it meets the street. The curved form also achieves the largest single exhibit space for the site while making the building appear smaller in width and height than a traditional box-shape. Off the 100,000-sq.-ft. boat-shaped exhibit hall are large areas of glass were visitors can peer through at the Spokane River.

New and old convention center facilities are joined by an elevated pathway, which provides passersby with views of the river and Centenial Train below. At the pathway's center is a connection to the DoubleTree Hotel and a space for seating and concessions such as coffee carts.

Spokane's downtown revitalization continues with the renovation of the Lincoln building. The $8 million improvement project will transform the structure into Lincoln Plaza, a new 110,000-sq.-ft. office and retail center. The building is owned by Spokane-based G&B Real Estate Services, the real estate division of West Coast Hospitality Corp., and Goebel Construction Co. of Spokane is serving as the general contractor.

The 1963 building would be remodeled to accommodate four retail shops between 8,000 and 10,000-sq.-ft. each on the ground floor. Construction on the Lincoln building starts this summer and will be completed in about a year.

David Peterson, vice president of G&B Real Estate Services, said the combination of the convention center expansion and the steady rise Spokane's residential building market contributed to his firm's decision to embark on the renovation project.

"The timing is right for this type of redevelopment," he said. "There have been a number of commercial and condominium projects announced this year, already."

The burst of residential construction was partially spurred by a recent city-commissioned study indicated that there is demand for housing in Spokane's business district for 300 new units per year or up to 1,500 dwellings by 2008. The housing report found roughly 13, 300 people would be looking for housing in Spokane in the next three years and 4,100 of those want to live downtown.

About 47 percent of the housing market growth will come from residents already in the city of Spokane or Spokane County. Roughly 11 percent will be coming from the Seattle metropolitan areas and 35 percent will relocate from outside Washington State. Of the 4,100 moving downtown, nearly 60 percent of them would choose rental lots or apartments. The other 40 percent are looking to purchase condos or townhouse types of housing.

While downtown has been filing up with new condominiums and commerce, Spokane economic officials want to spur development closer to the city's universities, Washington State University-Spokane and Gonzaga. New academic buildings are already planned or under way at both universities as well as key infrastructure projects, Reese said.

One of the projects under construction is the $33.85 million academic center at WSU-Spokane, which will be the centerpiece of the Riverpoint campus. The 90,000-sq.-ft. building will provide student services and house the library, administrative offices, conference facilities, program incubator spaces, tiered lecture facilities and distance-learning classrooms.

The academic center will also offer space for relocation of some programs from WSU in Pullman and others currently in leased or temporary space. The academic building is scheduled to be completed in August 2006 and is being built by Shea Graham Construction.

The Spokane University will also add an approximately 100,000-sq.-ft. nursing facility to the Riverpoint campus. Estimated to cost $34.6 million, the project proposal includes upgrading, relocating and expanding the main building for its Intercollegiate College of Nursing in Spokane, the largest nursing college in the Northwest. The facility would open for the 2008 spring semester at the earliest.

The new building will benefit several Spokane universities including Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, Whitworth College students and students from community colleges.

Gonzaga University is also quickly working its way through a list of new construction and renovation projects. The university will complete a new residence hall to house 95 students, just broke ground on a new apartment complex to provide living space for 225 students and is continuing to renovate is administration building.

But what students and 'Zag fans are really looking forward to is a new baseball field currently under design. The school's former U.S. postal annex will be razed this summer, and Spokane general contractor Garco Construction Co. will begin preparing the land.

Garco project manager for the baseball field Steve LaRue, said the complex would be built in phases, most likely linked to the school's fund-raising efforts. The first phase will be constructing the field and reinstalling the bleachers. Phases will continue until a modern complex with suites, concessions and a new turf field is completed.

Near the universities, the $6 million SIRTI Technology Center, a biotechnology facility, is also under construction. Spokane's Goebel is the general contractor for the technology center, which broke ground in February.

The 39,000-sq. ft. building will house a mix of laboratory, office and manufacturing space for emerging research projects and technology companies. Facility designs show the building will be broken into 12,000 sq. ft. of wet labs, 10,000 sq. ft. of offices and 8,000 sq. ft. of flex space to accommodate various activities. In addition, the building incorporates a number of sustainable concepts including day lighting, energy efficiency monitoring and natural ventilation. The facility will be completed in November.

All the higher-education buildings will be incorporated into the new university district, Reese and other city officials are currently meeting with developers to discuss residential projects to house students, faculty and university employees as well as commercial ventures to support the universities' community.