Spokane developer and contractor Eric Brown says he plans to construct a $15 million-plus office complex near the south bank of the Spokane River, on the eastern edge of the University District.
The project, tentatively named Spokane River Properties Development, would have four three-story office buildings and one single-story retail structure, Brown says.
Brown’s real estate holding company, Brown Properties LLC, owns the property, which is comprised of nearly 7 acres of land with 1,900 linear feet of river frontage, the center of which lies under the Hamilton Street bridge. Two office buildings and the retail building would be east of the bridge, which is formally named the James E. Keefe Bridge, and a pair of office buildings would be west of it.
The project hinges on the next phase of construction for Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Brown says.
“Before I pull the trigger, I want to make sure the street is going through,” he says.
Martin Luther King Jr. Way, which connects to Division on its west end, currently terminates at North Sherman Street, roughly 300 yards west of the Spokane River Properties site.
The city of Spokane’s planned extension would skirt the south edge of the development site and continue on the current Erie Street right of way to Trent Avenue.
City engineer Dan Buller says design work is nearly complete for the extension, and the city is working on acquiring property from BNSF Railway Co. and a private landowner.
Then, depending on Washington state Department of Transportation approval, construction could begin in late summer and carry over into 2016, Buller says.
Brown Properties has submitted a predevelopment application, which tentatively begins the planning process with the city for the Spokane River Properties Development. Brown Properties also has applied for a building permit to construct infrastructure and site improvements on the property.
Brown says he hopes to begin site work when the city starts work on the street extension.
“I also hope to start work on one of the office buildings this year,” he adds.
Two of the office buildings each would have a total of 24,000 square feet of space, and two would have 15,000 square feet each, he says. The retail building would have 3,000 square feet of space, bringing the combined square footage in the complex to 81,000 square feet. The development also would have a surface lot with close to 200 parking spaces.
Brown’s constructi
via $15 million-plus office complex eyed along Spokane River > Spokane Journal of Business.