County Puts Hold On Center Expansion

Sat., May 23, 1998

By Angie Gaddy angieg@spokesman.com

Spokane County has told developer Raymond Hanson that he can’t expand his retail center just east of the Spokane Valley Mall until developers kick in their share of money for the planned freeway interchange at Evergreen Road.

The Barnes and Noble bookstore already under construction at Hanson’s site is the last development allowed until the county gets $7.1 million from Hanson and other developers with land in the area.

But Hanson plans to turn in a traffic study by the end of the month that he hopes might convince county officials to allow more development on his property.

The county has put a moratorium on all large development near the mall until the interchange is built.

Right now, the county is limiting Hanson to 95,000 square feet of developed retail space on his property just east of the Valley Mall. Gart Sports and Circuit City stores opened there last year. The 25,000-square foot Barnes and Noble store now under construction will bring the total to 87,600 square feet.

“They’re at 90 percent right now. Anything additional would throw them over,” said assistant county engineer Ross Kelley.

Negotiations with Staples, the big office supply retail chain, began last year, but no leases have been signed.

Earlier this year, the state formally approved $6 million to help pay for construction of the Evergreen interchange, which would relieve traffic on Pines and Sullivan roads.

The new interchange would be paid for jointly by the state, the county, Hanson Industries, JP Realty, which owns the Valley Mall, and Inland Empire Paper Co., which also owns a large parcel of land near the mall.

But the developers have yet to write a check for their share of the cost of building the $23.4 million interchange. The three are expected to contribute a total of about $7.1 million.

JP Realty has said it will pay about $2.4 million toward the interchange. Inland Empire Paper Co. has said it will pay $2.1 million.

Hanson has said he wants consideration for what he has already paid for work on Indiana Avenue when determining how much his share will be.

The county says it doesn’t care how much each developer pays, just as long as it gets the rest of the money needed to build the interchange.

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