Bus Station Price Still Unknown Disputes Could Increase Or Reduce The $20.6 Million Estimate For Sta Project

Six months after the Spokane Transit Authority opened its downtown bus station, taxpayers still don’t know how much they paid for the building.

Neither does STA.

While the total project cost is budgeted at $20.6 million, several contracts remain open because of disputes and product defects, STA Executive Director Allen Schweim said.

All expenses associated with the bus station won’t be calculated until those issues are resolved this spring, Schweim said Friday.

The most recent big-ticket item is $757,000 paid out of emergency cash reserves to settle a claim by the building’s main contractor, Shea Construction Inc.

The claim concerned a number of items that forced construction delays and additional costs on the contractor.

Until a full accounting this spring, STA won’t know whether the $757,000 is another in a series of cost overruns on the project.

Then again, the project could cost slightly less than $20.6 million, Schweim said.

“It’s premature and speculative” to suggest the Shea payoff will bust the budget, he said. “We’ve got a lot of stuff left open. We’re not through.”

The station opened July 16 after 20 years of debate and five years of delays and court challenges.

In 1990, STA estimated project costs at $7.5 million. A 1991 court challenge killed that deal, and STA added $5 million to the price tag to build another structure.

Expenses then skyrocketed $8 million over problems with the Riverside and Wall building site, rising steel prices, construction and architectural glitches, and what some critics called unmitigated opulence, such as expensive Italian tile and a $75,000 waterfall.

County Commissioner Steve Hasson, a member of the STA board until this month, was the only dissenter on the Nov. 22 vote to pay Shea $757,000 to prevent a lawsuit.

“It’s another million on top of millions,” said Hasson, arguably the bus center’s biggest critic. “The price is still a moving object.

“It’s ugly. It’s a travesty. I’ve always said this thing is the biggest boondoggle this community has ever contrived.”

While approving the Shea claim in November, the STA board rejected a settlement offer from Tan/Heyamoto Architects. The firm continues to negotiate for a sum Schweim and principal Ron Tan refused to disclose.

STA’s account with Shea, however, is closed.

“There was no single issue,” said Dick Lopes, Shea’s project manager. “It was a myriad of issues that started from the first day we were on the job.”

Former Spokane City Councilwoman Bev Numbers, an ex-STA board member and major station proponent, said Shea faced two major problems that slowed it and its subcontractors.

Construction crews hit some underground utilities and encountered other unexpected conditions, such as a jagged foundation on the adjoining Peyton Building. Secondly, another contractor, Bouten Construction Co., didn’t properly align steal beams forming the building’s skeleton.

Among the bugs still being worked out are the outdoor route signs, which have never worked properly. The $600,000 contract won’t be paid until the signs are replaced and fully operational, Schweim said.

While the building gets rave reviews architecturally, it’s often criticized as being pretentious.

“It’s stupid,” said Millwood Mayor Jeanne Batson, an STA board member. “It’s a beautiful building, but it’s not a bus depot. It should be the lobby in a fancy hotel.”

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