Evergreen Interchange Funding Pact Stalled, So Is Development

With development hopes stalled in traffic, three Spokane Valley land owners are trying to work out an agreement to help build a new freeway interchange at Evergreen Road.

Spokane Valley Mall owner JP Realty, Hanson Industries and Inland Empire Paper Co., which all have land north of Interstate 90, have talked about putting a total of $6.9 million toward the $23.4 million project.

The Evergreen interchange is planned to relieve blood-boiling traffic congestion at the I-90 interchanges at Pines and Sullivan roads. Funding will come from developers, the state and county.

Spokane County has placed a moratorium on large-scale projects in the area near the mall, a restriction that won’t be lifted until the Evergreen interchange is built.

JP Realty has agreed to pay about $2.4 million, said company president Rex Frazier. Although no check has been signed, Frazier said, “We’ve committed to a dollar amount and we’re willing to put that up now.”

Inland Empire Paper, an affiliate of Cowles Publishing Co., which owns The Spokesman-Review, has agreed to pay $2.1 million, said Wayne Andresen, the company’s vice president and general manager.

Raymond Hanson, head of Hanson Industries, said he has not agreed to a specific amount.

“I’m not hesitant to pay,” Hanson said. “I think there should be a fair share between the public and developers. We, the developers, are not the only beneficiaries of this interchange.”

Hanson said he already spent $5 million to extend Indiana Avenue, from Pines Road east to Sullivan Road, to service the new Valley Mall and his adjacent development. Hanson, who sold the land to JP Realty upon which the Salt Lake City company built the new mall, is developing a retail plaza next-door called Hanson Center.

Hanson said he also believes the tax revenue generated by businesses in Hanson Center - Circuit City and Gart Sports are the first two tenants - and other properties planned near the mall should be considered in deciding who pays how much toward the new interchange.

The developers’ willingness to put their own money on the table could help spring an additional $4 million in funding from the state Legislature for the interchange, said state Rep. Mark Sterk.

However, even with the developers’ contribution and the hoped-for $4 million from the Legislature, there still remains a $2.4 million shortfall.

“We don’t know where that will come from,” said assistant county engineer Ross Kelley. “That’s the question. Bake sales, car washes, candy sales. We don’t know.”

Developers have suggested they will seek state grants or ask that latecomers help pay for the interchange.

If full funding is in place, the state Department of Transportation would like to begin construction next year, said department spokesman Al Gilson. But, he said, construction will begin only after all the funding is secured.

“We do not have a signed contract,” Gilson said. “We’re just anxious for an agreement.”

Construction of the interchange would open up development opportunities in the area for JP Realty, Hanson and Inland Empire Paper.

Once the interchange is in place, JP Realty would like to build a second phase of the mall.

Hanson Industries has plans to develop 100 acres it owns along Sullivan and Indiana as Evergreen Crossing, a mix of retail space, offices, hotels and service businesses.

Inland Empire Paper has about 200 acres in the area, 70 of which it has gifted to Mirabeau Point, the proposed community complex on the old Walk in the Wild zoo site. The paper company would prefer to sell the rest of its property there to a developer rather than develop the land itself, Andresen said.

Inland Empire Paper’s promise of the $2.1 million hinges on getting commercial zoning for its land, he added.

Also on hold until the interchange is built are plans for the Mirabeau Point community complex.

Denny Ashlock, who heads up the non-profit Mirabeau Point Inc., the group pushing the community complex, would like to see developers’ money in an account earmarked for the Evergreen interchange by the end of the year.

Ashlock has acted as an ad hoc broker in trying to forge an agreement among JP Realty, Hanson Industries and Inland Empire Paper on who will pay what and when toward the interchange project. He would like to see that deal in place before the start of the 1998 legislative session in January.

“We’re getting so close now (to the Legislature’s meeting). We need to wrap it up soon,” he said.

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