Spokane7
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October 5, 2011 in City
New ground breaking on Riverpoint project
Ambitious vision becomes more visible with every brick
Looking south from inside the Academic Center, site preparation for what will be the largest, most expensive addition to Riverpoint campus yet – a $70 million biomedical and health sciences building – is under way.
(Full-size photo)
If you go
The groundbreaking ceremony for the new biomedical and health sciences building on the Riverpoint campus will begin informally at 1:30 p.m. today in the lobby of the Academic Center. The formal program, including remarks from Gov. Chris Gregoire, Sen. Lisa Brown, Sen. Michael Baumgartner, Mayor Mary Verner, WSU President Elson Floyd and others, will run from 2 to 3 p.m.
When Erik Nelson went back to school to become a pharmacist, he faced a long road, in more ways than one.
A young father living in Spokane, Nelson enrolled in Washington State University’s pharmacy program – the first two years of which were based in Pullman. He wound up spending his weeks on the Palouse and commuting home for weekends.
“It’s definitely been a challenge,” said Nelson, now a 30-year-old father of two.
Nelson will be long gone by the time WSU consolidates all its pharmacy programs in Spokane and eliminates that problem. But he’ll be there among the big shots today as they mark the next big step in the development of the Riverpoint campus: construction on a $70 million biomedical and health sciences building.
The building, which will house medical and pharmacy students, is part of an overall health sciences vision at Riverpoint that is projected to bring in more students and faculty, drive research activity, create opportunities for business partnerships and contribute hundreds of millions to the economy in the coming decades.
But it’s also part of a simpler development: The Riverpoint vision is becoming more visible.
From 1997 to 2002, the Riverpoint “campus” consisted of a single building on a former train yard. There was a vision for the place as a vibrant university district, connecting to downtown and Gonzaga – but it was awfully hard to see. It even seemed a little far-fetched, if only because for a long time Riverpoint was built more of high hopes than bricks and mortar.
WSU and Eastern Washington University now have some 3,000 students enrolled at Riverpoint. Since the first classroom building opened in 1998, the campus has added three major buildings. Work on a new extension of Riverside Avenue – Martin Luther King Jr. Way – is part of a plan to divert traffic from the core of campus, making it more walkable and inviting. And there are plans for a collaborative health care development to grow along with the campus.
The building won’t be completed for a couple years, and it will require more money from donors and taxpayers during difficult times to make it happen. But Riverpoint is no longer just an amorphous notion. It’s real enough for even those of us with limited vision to see.
“To me, this brings so much to our community, not only because of the education but because of the research that goes on here,” said Linda Garrelts MacLean, associate dean for professional education and outreach in the College of Pharmacy. “I’m standing in my office and looking out, and it’s so full of young, bright minds and youth. Wow – it didn’t look like this 11 years ago.”
Preparation work is already under way on the new building, just east of the new nursing building on Spokane Falls Boulevard. The state has provided $35 million – about half of the expected cost for the 125,000-square-foot building. WSU is raising money and trying to drum up donor support for the building and its programs, but it will have to get in line again in Olympia.
The investment in medical education isn’t frivolous. We need more doctors in this region, and health care is a strong and growing part of the economy. The expansion of health education at Riverpoint is expected to bring money to Spokane – an estimated $441 million injection to the regional economy by 2017, and around $1.6 billion by 2030.
The vision for Riverpoint includes training doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others, working on a model of teamwork and collaboration across disciplines. The move to establish the programs in Spokane is based in large part on the larger health care industry here – giving students many more opportunities for training and interacting with the public through hospitals, clinics and other venues.
As Nelson puts it, “You are only able to do so many community health forums on campus” in Pullman.
Pharmacy began the move from Pullman to Spokane in 2002, when some faculty members had offices in a bank building. At that point, Riverpoint had just opened its second building. Eventually, pharmacy students took their first two years in Pullman and their second two in Spokane – the split that turned Nelson into a commuter for two years.
Nelson is a Spokane native. He attended Lewis and Clark High School, graduating in 1999. A couple years later, he enrolled at Spokane Falls Community College and then Eastern. What did he know about Riverpoint back then? He has to think about it for a second.
“I remember they had some type of campus here …” he said.
These days, it makes more of an impression.
Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459-5431 or shawnv@spokesman.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vestal13.com.
The draw of the unknowable 
Dazzeetrader11 on October 05 at 12:48 a.m.
$70 million for a med school Spokane doesn’t need . $70 for a school nobody had a chance to vote on despite the St being near bankrupt.
$70 million for a physician shortage (never proven) purported to occur by 2022…….the hustly was on and the fix was in. Something to point to next time 6 politicians need to claim credit.
More for GSI to crow about. Save money. Discontinue SIRTI which has done nothing despite spending upwards of $1 billion in it’s 20 years on the Riverpoint campus. And cancel this goofy med school . It’s a pet project of just a few. It’ll never bear fruit.
Do any of you remember voting for these expenditures? You paid for them. Did they let you vote? Of course not. Why? It would have been voted down. SO much for having a voice in how your money is spent.
Ed Byrnes on October 05 at 12:58 a.m.
The University of Washington is the only accredited medical school in the state. Have they entered into some form of agreement to participate in this medical school or are we banking on getting accredited after it’s built?
Ed
SPOKANITE on October 05 at 1:45 a.m.
@Ed…
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2006/jul/22/med-school-expanding-to-spokane/
johnclarke on October 05 at 7:26 a.m.
Gee, wan’t I reading concerns about a shortage of doctors, what with health reform and all? While I am never in favor of pork, this state funded thing was going somewhere and I’m personally glad it’s here. Construction jobs, teaching jobs, students living and spending money in Spokane. I’ll take it.
westerly on October 05 at 7:30 a.m.
SIRTI…many millions spent last 20 years, 10’s of thousands of hi tech jobs made in Spokane….what a joke..all it does is pay its employees their super high salaries. Look around Spokane, has SIRTI been a mover and shaker?? Nope..looks good for Verner’s tourist sites, that’s about it.
sustainable on October 05 at 8:14 a.m.
Dazzee, You are correct that we didn’t vote specifically for this new building and frankly we didn’t need to. We have a representative democracy and the folks that we elected voted to fund this after decades worth of planning went into it. Higher education and medical industry are two things Spokane is good at so this is a good economic development tool as students need to be educated somewhere, why not do it here?
As far as the expense, I’m with you in that I think that we ought to be able to build these buildings less expensively, but I have friends involved with capital projects that explain that a lot of money goes into thingsnwe wouldn’t initially expect, but make sense: contingency, furnishings such as desks, screens, lab equipment, computers, etc. Essentially the building cost is paying for a fully furnished house, not a vacant one that you have to buy couches and dinnerware for.
Realistically, your point about not needing a medical school is ridiculous. You may know about the WAMI arrangement in which all of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho all use the University of Washington as their med school. Those states don’t have their own and contribute to the expense of educating their students here. Currently UW-Seattle is the only campus for all five states and it makes entry very difficult as there is an overflow of students. This will provide relief to that campus as UW-Spokane or whatever they call it will be able to accept it’s own cohort of students
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on October 05 at 10:12 a.m.
sustainable: Don’t pay any attention to the troll. D. hates anything that costs money, especially if it brings benefit to anyone.
avboden on October 05 at 2:47 p.m.
Spokane NEEDS this medical school folks. The medical industry is BIG BIG BIIIIIG money, and this will bring a lot more of that to spokane. 35million from the state is a tiny investment compared to the returns that they will see.
Spokane has 2 very quality hospitals willing to get involved, UW is getting involved, WSU is getting involved, this is happening and it is being done right.
I have a feeling many of you crying this was a waste of money were also the folks crying about spokane county “wasting” money on spokane county raceway? Yeah, that racetrack is making MILLIONS already. It’s bringing in national NHRA championship drag racing events, regional Nascar events, and selling out almost every single event they hold really.
Just because we have a budget crisis doesn’t mean we should stop investing money in things. To stop investing would doom the economy.
The medical school is a good, solid, and smart investment both financially and socially.
/rant
Ed Byrnes on October 05 at 3:00 p.m.
@ SPOKANITE, thank you for the information. Knowing that the UW nationally accredited program is involved has me supporting this project.
Ed
Dazzeetrader11 on October 05 at 3:04 p.m.
$100 million for the first(of many) buildings and sustainable ..you seriously don’t think the [ublic NEEDS to have a say how our money is spent? BOY.are YOU wrong.
This is exactly why the USA and the St are heading toward bankruptcy. I am offended by your statement but it’s expected
from the people who work for the SIRTI crowd or a GSI /State employee. It’s unconscionable..
More doctors we need? Who says? This is the same claptrap we hear in the 60’s and 70’s from Teddy Kennedy…..and we did procue more docs…who then flooded the cites and not the small towns, reservations etc. As far as Spokane goes, we graduate 60-70 new fully trained MD’s every year from Int Med, Fam Med,. Radiology, etc. You think we need more? Who says? Where are the studies? I know….it’slike when M Roy Schwarz ( he founded WAMI) came to dinner at our house and explained the program. Yes I’m very aware of WAMI. The goals etc.
Look, …the first 2 years of med school are basic science years..and they are NOW being taught on 5 different campuses. Here included. it’s already being done…..at no new cost. The 2nd two years are clinical hospital years…and they are being done here too. …as well as everywhere in the Northwest. Kids graduate from UW.
There is NO need to spend our money on this type of thing. I’d rather fix the streets . When GSI tours new people ( like me) we get beat up by the streets from the uneven edges and potholes. We NEED those fixed.
We will not gain one thing from spending like this. When Dr Schwarz founded WAMI, there was need in theory. If you knew him or had read his writings, you’d soon see the shift in ideas. Now he says its a business oportunity.industry and medicine.
In Spokane and the St have spent literally BILLIONS of SIRTI and got what? It’s an incubaotr……for other businesses. And the only company that did anything was Signature Genomics who was bought by Sacred HEart and now is sold to a large international Compny based in the East and in Germany, Belgium and London. Nice try….the taxpayer paid for nothing we got in Spokane. SOmebody else made the money but the taxpayer was hustled ( quietly) into a huge swindle.
The best part is that the politicians always hide behind a noble idea…ie med school! or feeding children or some such nonsense. To boot, a foregin construction company is building the builds as happened with the nursing school. What a crock.
To be clear though….this is very wrong when the people pay for something ( a lot of something in this case) and get what? What???? WSU Health has been on campus for 20 years and what have they produced in medicine?? What? What???
It’s a big hustle foist unknowingly on the taxpayer. YES we need a voice in how our money is spent. Bankrupt states continue to spend on things…….useless things we don’t need. Lisa Brown and her union friends and GSI pulled a fast one.,,,with other peoples money…….OUR money. How long will this go on? Where’s our voice? No votes.no nothing.just a money swindle.
MrNatural on October 05 at 4:17 p.m.
This is supposed to be a good thing right?…the pursuit of knowledge, education, employment, aspirations, reaching for the stars kind of stuff…better than crime, slums, dereliction…
I was having a hard time figuring out why someone would prefer fixing a pothole over this and what would compel someone to denigrate this little ray of sunshine in our midst and then thanks to the wonders of the internet I found the answer… we’re dealing with CAVE people…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAVE_People
Dazzeetrader11 on October 05 at 8:14 p.m.
Ray of sunshine? Spending $100 million on a project tha will accomplished what we have already? Please go inside…your ray of sunshine his burned your brain. Dems love the fantasy when someone else has to pay for it.
misjustice on October 05 at 8:16 p.m.
If Dazzed is against it, it’s gotta be good!
Dazzed, my ranting incoherent friend, PLEASE, down load a free spell check program AND USE IT! Your mistake filled posts just make you seem, well, uneducated…even though you aren’t.
Well, and stuff like this doesn’t help your argument either, “…or feeding children or some such nonsense”; feeding children is NOT nonsense. Neither is educating them.
Just sayin’…
misjustice on October 05 at 8:20 p.m.
Mr. Natch, Citizens Against Virtually Everything, good one!
; )
CougarGold on October 05 at 8:37 p.m.
Okay, first, a little housekeeping. In a couple of posts above, the posters noted WAMI which is actually WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho). I know, a little picking of nit but those ‘minor’ details bother me. I guess I’m just anal.
For those who are concerned about the approximately $71M in capital expense on this, not $100M as noted above, you really should read this:
http://spokane.wsu.edu/HealthSciences/FinalEconomicCommunityBenefitsReportJune2010.pdf
From Page 19 of the report:
“In 2009, the Riverpoint Campus and associated partnerships with academic institutions, healthcare organizations, research institutes, and private industry had a total annual regional economic impact of over $212 million, supporting approximately 1,103 full-time high-paying jobs and generating over $16 million in government revenue.
By 2030, Tripp Umbach estimates that the Academic Health Science Center @ Riverpoint will have a total annual regional economic impact of approximately $1.6 billion, support 9,276 jobs and generate more than $111 million in government revenue.”
The economic argument for the biomedical health sciences building is pretty obvious, not to mention the increased demand for services. Anyone who looks at our aging population with baby-boomers moving into full retirement mode, starting NOW, should clearly understand the impacts. Not only is a growing percentage of the population getting to the age of more complex and just plain more medical care needs, so are the practioners aging and retiring, leaving fewer medical professionals to treat greater medical demands.
Adding the potential impact of Obamacare and the increased number of insured/demand on the industry and the intersect of supply and demand lead to a healthcare access crisis. Bringing on a medical school, jointly administered and taught by UW and WSU will enhance opportunities for not only economic growth but in better meeting demand in our area.
As for whether we, as citizens, got to vote on this, we did. We voted in our representatives and I will assure you that this project received their virtual total support with the possible exception of John Ahern, at least as far as I’m aware. I know Kevin Parker and Mike Baumgartner joined with the State Democrats from our area in supporting the project. This is exactly the kind of higher education initiative that we should all be clamoring for and we should be gratefully thanking our state for having the broader understanding of the positive impacts this has for not only the Spokane region but the entire state.
Dazzeetrader11 on October 05 at 9:57 p.m.
This is exactly what the fantasy is. Cougar did you ever read the same nonsense put for to justify SIRTI?
It never happens. It’s the report of a person hired specifically to say what the university, business followers,, etc community wants.
It ‘s a big bunch of nothing. He’s hired to say what they like to hear. He does that all over America to justify expenditures. There is no data or studies to support what he says. It’s just so circular in logic.
When the ST is out of money and is negative, spending $100 million ( see the Graham budget) for a fantasy is plain crazy. It should be illegal to do this to the taxpayer.
Where is the NEED? SOmewhere off in 20 yrs? Are the needs being met now? Yes. This is nothing more than the hallucination to provide jobs that are needed sometime somewhere.
SIRTI, 25 yrs ago did the same thing. Paid someone to conjure up a need, then they formed a board to “study” the issue……and then the study group hired a similar study done. Then they quoted it forever and talked (WSU perhaps??…yes it was) the legislature into funding the development. to the “academic” building on riverpoint, go inside and see what’s going on. Not much. offices for the guys who have salaries to have coffee and lunch. Most will be empty…knpw why? Well, WSU let’s those guy be consultants. They don’t do researchand they rarely teach. They have very very good salaries but most of their money comes from working outside the university.
See the 20 yr old Health building that used to house the nursing school? Likewise go in. It’s empty. Pa driven clinics.not physician in the place.
It’s a big con guys! Jo jobs, no research, little teaching but lots of coffee. If you’re looking for an endpoint..ask someone where the academic papers are. Ask for one paper…ummmmmm……ummmm………<—is what you’ll get.
And the taxpayer gets no say in anything. Why not give it to the public for a vote? Never will happen because if the public knew, they throw all of those frauds in the river. We Are BROKE AS IT GETS…and the fraud continues.
I know the game. I have funded the game. Fun for a while till somebody wonders why we can’t take care of the streets, why water fees are out of sight .well go have a look see. Your money was allocated to Riverpoint. For nothing.
Roy Schwarz would be proud. Truth be known, those so called academics are the equivalent of the public union players. They could not survive in the provate sector. They are the true “do nothings” who suck the blood out of the public.
And you fools just nod your heads in unison. Amazing.
CougarGold on October 05 at 11:01 p.m.
Dazzee - I’ll just leave it as this: We’re best off to agree to disagree.
misjustice on October 06 at 12:24 p.m.
I don’t agree with you, old gal, but that last post of yours is much easier to read…thanks~!
; )