Kendall Yards construction delayed

Work on a new multimillion-dollar Kendall Yards development is continuing on a planning level, but construction of the first buildings may not occur until 2009, a Spokane city official said this week.

In the meantime, the appointment of an advisory committee for the spending of increased property tax collections near the project has been postponed for at least a year to coincide with the start of actual construction, said Cody George, economic development adviser for the city.

On Monday, George briefed Councilman Steve Corker on progress at Kendall Yards during a meeting of the council’s planning, community and economic development committee.

Corker asked that residents who applied to sit on the advisory committee be notified that the city is going to delay the appointments until work is under way. George said they had already been notified.

City officials also said that work on installing new electrical equipment under Bridge Avenue will continue into March. Electrical lines were relocated to make way for a new alignment for Bridge at the north end of the Monroe Street bridge. Avista Utilities is doing the work.

In an interview after the meeting, George said that work at Kendall Yards in 2008 is expected to be limited to planning, engineering and infrastructure installation, including utilities and streets. Crews had worked through last fall on the initial ground preparations.

“It’s a big project,” he said about the time it is taking to get building construction started.

The Kendall Yards project is eligible for a $20 million to $25 million property tax incentive that the developer can use to pay for infrastructure work. The money will come from a portion of the higher property taxes generated by the development.

In addition, another $2.5 million could be available for projects in the surrounding neighborhoods on the North Side, and a special citizen advisory committee is going to be appointed to help guide spending of that portion of the so-called “tax-increment financing.”

Corker asked that the North Monroe business association be kept informed about the tax-increment projects.

Kendall Yards could bring $1 billion in new investment with construction of 1 million square feet of commercial space and 2,600 residences over the next 20 years. The project is the work of Black Rock Development under developer Marshall Chesrown. The project manager was not available for comment on the status of the development earlier this week.