Playground offers learning dimension

MIRABEAU – The city of Spokane Valley will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Discovery Playground on Monday at 11 a.m. at the northwest corner of Mirabeau Parkway and Mansfield Avenue, just south of CenterPlace Regional Event Center. The community is invited to attend.

The playground is designed to provide learning and play opportunities for children of all abilities. Themed “Exploring Eastern Washington,” the playground’s features engage sight, sound, touch and smell to teach about the region’s natural environment while supporting physical, educational and social development. Children can climb on boulders, learn about the life cycle of a salmon, hibernate in the Bear Den, or roost in the Eagles Nest. The Discovery Playground also includes group gathering areas, accessible restrooms and more.

The $1.5 million project was funded in part by an $800,000 grant from the state of Washington.

For more information call Mike Stone, Parks and Recreation director, at (509) 688-0300 or visit www.spokanevalley.org.

Row house project to kick off Monday

UNIVERSITY – Community Frameworks will break ground on Monday at 11 a.m. for its Valley Pointe Townhome project, on Fourth Avenue near University Road.

The 2.41-acre site will eventually hold 30 attached row houses with surrounding green space and a community park. The two- and three-bedroom townhomes are designed to meet the affordability needs of first-time homebuyers with incomes at or below 80 percent of area median income. The project marks a denser neighborhood development model for Community Frameworks’ HomeStarts homeownership program. The Washington State Housing Trust Fund and HUD provided $4.3 million in funding for the project.

The HomeStarts program helps motivated first-time homebuyers overcome the obstacles to homeownership. Working alongside their future neighbors, homebuyers contribute sweat equity to earn their down payments and to learn home maintenance and construction skills. HomeStarts provides financial counseling and helps buyers qualify for conventional first mortgages and offers deferred low-interest second mortgages that ensure affordable payments.

For information, call Community Frameworks at (509) 484-6733, Ext. 117, or visit www.communityframe works.org.