Redevelopment Before Council Again City Expected To Take Final Action In Receiving $22 Million Hud Loan

The Spokane City Council is expected tonight to take its last step toward receiving a $22.6 million loan to help finance the River Park Square downtown redevelopment project.

The federal funds will be loaned to the city in phases as the work is completed. The city will in turn loan it to the developers.

The loan, applied for in 1995, won preliminary approval last spring from the City Council and from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The approval of the loan documents between the city and HUD tonight is expected to be the council’s final action on the loan matter.

“I can’t see that there would be anything else coming before City Council,” said Pete Fortin, deputy city manager.

But the documents likely won’t be approved without discussion.

Some council members aren’t certain all concerns about the loan and the project have been answered.

“I’m surprised it’s on our agenda,” said Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers. “I think there are lots of unresolved issues.”

Mayor John Talbott is also concerned, especially in view of a letter received from HUD’s Seattle office last month raising several questions, including:

The need for a full appraisal assuring the viability of the project from the city’s standpoint.

Environmental issues.

The extent the federal Uniform Relocation Act will apply to businesses that have to be relocated because of the project.

John Peters, HUD’s director of community planning and development, met with city staff and developers two weeks ago to discuss those concerns.

Fortin said all the concerns have been met.

“If not, at least we know how to get there,” he said.

Talbott said he wasn’t invited to the meeting.

“I haven’t received any report about this,” he said. “How can we go ahead when these questions are being raised?”

Mike Adolfae, Spokane community development director, said steps have been taken to resolve the concerns.

The city is contracting with an appraiser, he said. The appraisal will consider the new Nordstrom building that will be used as collateral to the city, along with projected lease payments and the developer’s corporate guarantee.

As for the other concerns, he said the city has determined and certified that the project won’t have a negative impact on the environment.

He also said about a dozen former River Park Square businesses will be contacted, their situations evaluated, and their eligibility for a cash reimbursement determined.

The reimbursement has been figured into the project cost, Adolfae said, although he didn’t know the exact amount.

Susan McCue, a spokeswoman for the HUD public affairs office, said the loan documents are “very close” to being done.

“We have every reason to believe the city will meet HUD’s requirements,” she said.

River Park Square is being developed by Citizens Realty and Lincoln Investment.

Both are subsidiaries of Cowles Publishing, which also owns The Spokesman-Review.

The developers are building a $110 million project that will include a new Nordstrom, a variety of shops and restaurants, a 24-screen movie complex and an expanded parking garage.

SESSION TIMES A City Council briefing session is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in the council briefing center, lower level of City Hall. The regular council meeting begins at 6 p.m.