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May 28, 2009 in City
City may sell Playfair property at loss
Top offer comes from Valley manufacturer
Weeds grow in what remains of the former Playfair racetrack in east Spokane. The city is poised to sell Playfair for less than it paid – $6.3 million in 2004 – after two rounds of bidding.
(Full-size photo)
The city’s gamble on the former horse track it bought in 2004 is poised to become a short-term loser.
But in the long run, city officials say, selling the track – even at a loss – could be more like a jackpot for east Spokane, bringing jobs and development.
“The longer we put this off, the longer we don’t get any revenue out of it,” City Council President Joe Shogan said.
The city is reviewing offers to purchase part of Playfair in East Central Spokane. The city paid $6.3 million for 63 acres of Playfair in 2004 and will keep 18 acres for a storm water storage project.
The city last year requested formal bids to buy Playfair’s remaining 45 acres. Only one bid was received – from SCAFCO, a Spokane Valley-based steel-framing and grain-storage manufacturer. The sale fell through, even though the bid met a required minimum of $5.1 million, because SCAFCO demanded that the city pay to create sewer and street infrastructure on the site.
The new offers don’t meet the earlier minimum bid created by the council. Public Works Director Dave Mandyke said the new top offer again came from SCAFCO. But under the new deal, SCAFCO would pay to build roads and other public infrastructure on the site.
“The numbers hold together very closely,” Mandyke said.
Mandyke said the company initially hopes to bring about 100 jobs to the property by moving its steel-framing operations. Eventually, SCAFCO would move its grain-storage business and may develop part of the land for other companies.
Jim Hanley, of the East Spokane Business Association, said the group hopes the city will sell the property to SCAFCO. The business is growing and will be a good neighbor that will bring jobs to the community, he said.
“We can’t think of a better business to go in there than SCAFCO,” said Hanley, general manager of ACME TV Home & Office.
Former Mayor Jim West promoted the land’s purchase to build a sewage plant in partnership with Spokane County. But negotiations with the county soured soon after the land was purchased, and the county bought the nearby former stockyards property to build its own plant.
Councilman Bob Apple said it’s better to wait to sell the property until the market improves.
“We’ve got to get the minimum back,” Apple said in an interview earlier this month.
But several City Council members say depending on the details, they’re inclined to sell the land even if it’s less on a per-acre basis than the city paid in 2004.
“I’d like to see us get a good, competitive bid and put that land back to work for our city and our citizens,” City Councilman Mike Allen said.
City Councilman Al French, who previously argued that the land – bordered by Burlington Northern-Santa Fe and Union Pacific rail lines – would be best used for a train-loading center, said this week that he supports selling the property even if it’s not used for a transportation center.
“There wasn’t enough support for it, so there was no reason to pursue it,” French said.
Mayor Mary Verner said last year’s attempt to sell the land indicates that the city likely won’t earn a profit from the site.
“We got one bid. I think that speaks for itself as to what the market will bear,” Verner said earlier this month. “By the time we were at the point of trying to negotiate a final deal with the one bidder, the economy had continued to turn.”
Jonathan Brunt can be reached at jonathanb@spokesman.com or (509) 459-5442.
MAC faces angry crowd 
Betty on May 28 at 6:27 a.m.
As soon as the deal with the county went sour, they should have put it out for bid and got rid of the deal sooner than Jim West—there is no reason to keep it to try to turn a profit now, and that is sometimes what is wrong with the mechanisms of the city council. Get this off of the debit list and onto the taxable list. However, is this a good time or is keeping the 18 acres wise for the planned use now? Whatever West had planned didn’t go through and there is no sense in keeping any of that land now—make the best attractive deal for a bid and get it going.
liarsinnews on May 28 at 7:49 a.m.
I`ve been trying to decide if Shogan`s response or Mayor Verner`s answer takes the cake. Seems to me, its time to return to the city manager form of government. Verner, is the fourth mayor, and lacks the leadership, hands down. The first three were pandering to the Cowleses, and in their own way screwed the taxpayers of Spokane. Verner, for the most part has been moving deck chairs on the Titanic since taking office. She takes the cake. SAD!
George_Sands on May 29 at 1:08 a.m.
Shogun’s only saving grace is harassing people at City Council meetings, fostering distrust over signage and bus benches. He needs to remove his uniform and treat citizens with dignity and respect. Several Council persons have stated off the record that they are very close to giving Joe a swirly as an attitude adjustment.
If/when the economy rebounds, the property will increase in value. Perhaps they could sell it to the Parks/Dept so that we can get all the whiners from the South/East area to relinquish ruining the neighborhoods up there for baseball fields?
As usual it seems the Council should learn the mantra of. “If its not broke…dont fix it”. They have bigger fish to fry and should quit sweating the small stuff. Remember at least 8 council meetings were wasted with teeth nashing over insignificant signage and Bus benches.