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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Award will help fund hangar work

Spokane International Airport was awarded $2 million Thursday from the Washington Community Economic Revitalization Board to partially fund modernization of a hangar for use by Cascade Aerospace.

Lease of the hangar to Cascade, which will kick $2.1 million into the construction, was contingent on obtaining the CERB funds, airport spokesman Todd Woodard said.

“It’s a great day for us and the community as well,” he said after the unanimous CERB approval.

Cascade plans to employ almost 140 when operations begin Feb. 1, and employment could eventually reach 380.

The company, based in Abbotsford, B.C., will repair Boeing 757 and 777 airplanes in Spokane.

The airport will invest $500,000 in the upgrades, and the city of Spokane and Spokane County will contribute another $450,000, mostly in sewer and water system upgrades.

WASHINGTON

Home construction rate at 17-year low

Construction of single-family homes nationwide fell to the slowest pace in 17 years in June.

Builders started work on single-family homes at an annual rate of 647,000 units last month, a drop of 5.3 percent from the previous month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. It marked the slowest pace for singe-family activity since January 1991, another period when housing was going through a severe downturn.

With a surge in apartment construction in New York City, total construction rose by 9.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.066 million units.

WASHINGTON

30-year mortgage rates dip slightly

Mortgage rates fell this week with 30-year mortgage rates dropping to the lowest level in six weeks as investors became less worried that the Federal Reserve would soon tighten credit policy to stall inflation.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.26 percent this week.

That was down from 6.37 percent last week. It marked only the second weekly decline in the past eight weeks and left the 30-year rate at the lowest point since it averaged 6.09 percent the week of June 5.

From staff and wire reports