City Puts Brakes On Downtown Redevelopment Council Vote On Garage Delayed; Emergency Status May Be Lifted

Negotiations continued Thursday between developers and Spokane city officials over the proposed renovation and expansion of downtown’s River Park Square.

The City Council will delay a vote on a plan to purchase the project’s parking garage, and likely won’t consider the project as an emergency ordinance, according to city officials.

While details of the deal were still being hammered out Thursday, members of a downtown arts and entertainment association urged the council to support the redevelopment.

The Davenport Arts and Entertainment Board, comprised of business and property owners centered around the Davenport Hotel, said the $100 million River Park Square project is crucial to revitalize the city core and help other businesses.

“We urge our city leaders to back the project fully,” board member Andrew Baucom said at a press conference. “Without a revitalized downtown, our culture begins to vanish.”

The council had scheduled to vote on the parking garage purchase Monday night. But with negotiations between the city and the developers continuing, City Attorney James Sloane said the vote could be delayed at least a week.

Council members have questioned whether the project should be labeled an emergency. If the council designates something as an emergency, the public loses its right of referendum, meaning citizens can’t collect signatures on petitions to force the matter to a vote.

“We’ve asked that it be pulled from emergency status,” City Councilman Jeff Colliton said.

“Right now, it doesn’t have an emergency label,” Councilwoman Roberta Greene added.

Colliton said council members asked city negotiators to lower the price the city would pay for the garage.

“We’ve given them negotiating parameters beyond which we won’t go,” he said. “In my opinion, it will not go through at the $29 million price.”

It’s unclear what price the negotiators will settle on.

The city had been asked to purchase the River Park Square parking garage for nearly $30 million in revenue bonds as part of the shopping center’s $100 million redevelopment plan.

Under the proposal, the city also would rent the land the garage sits on from the developers, Citizens Realty Co. and Lincoln Investment Co., affiliates of Cowles Publishing Co., owner of The Spokesman-Review.

Both the bonds and the rent would be paid from parking fees. No tax money would be involved.

, DataTimes