Architects, city staff aiming for public input on new Spokane Valley city hall

Thu., April 9, 2015

By Pia Hallenberg piah@spokesman.com (509) 459-5427

Project timeline

• City Hall design will be completed by late 2015.

• Construction bidding starts in January 2016.

• Contractor selected in February or March 2016.

• Groundbreaking in March 2016.

• The new city hall will be ready between March and June 2017.

Find more information about the city hall project at www.spokanevalley.org and click on City Hall Project.

Meeting today

Spokane Valley Business Association is hosting Spokane Valley Community Development Director John Holman today at 7:30 a.m. at the Spokane Valley Fire Department Administration Building, 2120 N. Wilbur Road. Holman will give an update on the city hall project as well as the economic development plan and the ongoing update of the comprehensive plan. For more information, call (509) 842-2322.

Spokane Valley is having a kickoff meeting on Monday with Architects West Inc., the company that has been awarded a contract to build a new city hall.

Gabe Gallinger, Spokane Valley development services manager and the manager of the city hall project, said he’s excited to get started on the $14.4 million project.

On Monday, city staff and Architects West will talk about the public participation part of the project, among many other things.

“There will be many opportunities for people to weigh in,” Gallinger said.

Spokane Valley bought a 3.38-acre site on Sprague Avenue near the northwest corner of the University City Mall parking lot last year for nearly $1.3 million.

The old and partly empty mall will remain, but the parking ramp and part of the parking structure that’s on the land now owned by the city will be torn down, Gallinger said.

On the north side of Sprague Avenue, a new 30,000-square-foot library may become reality if Spokane Valley residents approve a $22 million library construction and renovation bond in August.

Mayor Dean Grafos said one reason why now is the right time for Spokane Valley to build its own city hall – as compared to previous times when the construction of a civic center has been brought up – is today’s favorable financial conditions.

“Our city now has the opportunity to build a much needed but right-sized municipal structure that reflects our continuing commitment to lean government and responsible stewardship of our tax dollars,” Grafos said.

The project is funded by city general fund revenues and the proceeds of a $8.26 million tax-exempt bond that will be issued later this year.

The majority of that bond will be repaid using the money Spokane Valley spends on leasing space for city hall at Redwood Plaza.

Gallinger said Architects West will be spending a lot of time at city hall observing workflow and various office spaces as the company gets down to actually designing the building.

The project has to be finished in two years because that’s when the lease expires at the current city hall.