Development interest in district is high, some say

Journal of Business, Jul 14, 2005 by Parish, Linn

Private development in what's being called the University District hasn't kicked into high gear yet as some expect it will in coming years, but U District advocates say interest is heavy in two projects that are in the works-the reopening of the Schade Towers and the potential redevelopment of the old JensenByrd Co. building.

Meanwhile, a newly completed Eastern Washington University survey shows strong demand for more housing and additional services there. U District planners say, however, that student and university faculty are interested in living in the district only if it becomes a more active neighborhood, with restaurants, nightlife, and unique retail shops.

"It goes to the idea of place making," says Kim PearmanGillman, an Avista Development executive who is involved in the U District planning. "It can be uniquely yours, rather than Anyplace, USA."

U District advocates are watching with interest what tenants the Schade Towers attracts and what ideas developers come up with for the Jensen-Byrd building.

Schade Towers is a historic, former brewery building at SZ8 E. Spokane Falls Blvd., across the street from the main portion of the Riverpoint Higher Education Park. The five-story structure had been converted to office space in the late 1990s, but sat vacant for several years after the previous owner filed for bankruptcy protection.

An investment group led by Spokane developer Barry Baker bought the historic structure earlier this year and currently is in negotiations with potential tenants.

Mark Pinch, president of Tomlinson Black Commercial Inc. and a partner in Baker's investment group, says the group has letters of intent from a handful of tenants. If all those potential tenants sign leases, one-third of the space there will be taken soon.

"It's the hottest property we have right now," Pinch says.

Potential tenants there thus far include a credit union and some medical users-he declines for now to disclose additional details about those prospective tenants.

Pinch says one of those potential tenants specifically wants to be in the U District, but the others have been drawn to the property largely due to its proximity to downtown Spokane, availability of parking, and a "cool factor" that the architecturally unusual building possesses.

"We'll see the first half (of leasing activity) driven by those three attributes," Pinch says. "I would guess the last half will be driven by the U District."

A couple of blocks to the west of Schade Towers at the old Jensen-Byrd building, Washington State University at Spokane plans to issue a request for proposals from developers to invigorate the .empty warehouse building. (See related story, A15.)

Tom Reese, a U District advocate and recently departed city of Spokane economic-development adviser, says, "There's a lot of developer interest in that project before it goes to rfp (the issuing of a request for proposals)."

WSU officials envision a mixed-use development in the sixstory, 178,000-square-foot structure that would incorporate forprofit student housing and other, university-related operations.

Riverpoint is home to some programs and administrative offices for EWU, WSU-Spokane, and Community Colleges of Spokane, and is across the Spokane River from Gonzaga University. Altogether, the two neighboring campuses have about 9, 100 students, faculty, and staff.

Riverpoint is a nonresidential campus, which means its longterm plans don't include state-funded student housing, while Gonzaga has some dormitories and other student housing on its campus.

EWU's U District survey, which was conducted last winter and completed earlier this month, estimates that 1,900 students, faculty, and staff members from the two campuses would strongly prefer to live within the district. Another 1,500 survey respondents said they would prefer to live in the district, but didn't characterize that urge as a strong desire.

Those numbers don't include people who currently live within the U District, but do include a group of about 650 people who currently attend the WSU College of Nursing and the affiliated Intercollegiate College of Nursing, which currently is in northwest Spokane, but will relocate to Riverpoint in about three years.

Larry Davis, the EWU business professor who conducted the U District survey, says those numbers indicate a large demand within the district for housing that's currently unmet and won't be met in the near future.

Two projects with living units that could accommodate roughly 250 people currently are under construction in the U District. The projects include a large structure at Gonzaga that will be able to accommodate 225 students, and living units at Havermale Park, along Browne Street between Sprague and Riverside.

Survey respondents also had strong desires for a number of additional services in the district. Davis estimates, based on the survey, that there is current unmet demand for three to five new restaurants, as well as a 24-hour coffee shop. Also, more than 50 percent of those surveyed said they'd like to have the following types of retail stores closer to the campuses: a bookstore, specialty foods market, office-supply store, and convenience store-presumably with gas, Davis says. Over half of those surveyed also said they'd like to have a print shop, a bank or credit union, and a pharmacy nearby.