The Mirabeau Point area, once all but written off following the closure of Walk in the Wild Zoo in 1995, is now a growing center of private, civic, and recreational uses in the Spokane Valley, thanks to an influx of $70 million or more in construction projects.


Pinecroft Business Park, which opened in 1998 on the northwest side of the Mirabeau Point area, expects to begin three major construction projects this year to add to the 10 buildings it already has there, says John Miller, a partner in Pinecroft LLC and president of Divcon Inc., a Spokane-based general contracting company.


The three projects, with estimated construction costs totaling $4 million, will add about 36,000 square feet of floor space in the 95-acre business park, which currently has about 308,000 square feet of space, Miller says.


Divcon, which will be the contractor on the project, will build a 10,000-square-foot-building at 3309 N. Cherry for a call center for a national client Miller declines to name.


It also will build 13,000-square-foot building at 12609 E. Pinecroft that will house the construction company, and a 13,000-square-foot addition to the Edmo Distributors Inc. building at 12830 E. Mirabeau Parkway.


Miller says Pinecroft Business Park receives inquiries weekly from companies looking at the Spokane area. Selling points for the Mirabeau Point area include easy access to Interstate 90 via Pines Road on the west and Evergreen Road on the east, he says. He adds that the area also has 60 restaurants and 20 motels and hotels within a radius of a few miles.


Most of the buildings in Pinecroft Business Park have tilt-up concrete exteriors with brick veneer. The masonry look carries over to several buildings on the southeast portion of Mirabeau Point, says Miller, whos on the architectural design committee for the area.


National companies are looking for decent-looking buildings, Miller says. They dont have to be the most trendy, but they must look professional.


On the southeast side of Mirabeau Point, the 46,000-square-foot office building called Mansfield Crossing, at 13224 E. Mansfield, is nearly complete, and its owner, Centennial Properties Inc., is seeking tenants for it.


Centennial Properties proposed in a master plan two years ago to develop as many as three more office buildings, to give it a total of up to 200,000 square feet of space in a 12-acre site, including Mansfield Crossing. Robert L. Smith, Centennial Properties vice president and chief operating officer, declines to discuss prospective tenants for Mansfield Crossing, or the status of the master plan.


Smith says, however, Mirabeau Point has many attributes that potential tenants are looking for, including its proximity to parks, trails, a YMCA facility, and CenterPlace at Mirabeau Point community center.


Its truly a great place for people to work and exercise, he says. More and more businesses are looking for ways to help employees maintain a high level of fitness.


Although the roadways inside Mirabeau Point have less traffic than many city streets, it is still accessible and highly visible from Indiana Avenue and Interstate 90, Smith says.


Ground-level parking is an important amenity, he says, adding, It makes it easy for customers and clients of any tenant to access.


In a current project just south of the Mirabeau Point area, Furniture Row Cos., of Denver, plans to open four stores soon in a 54,000-square-foot building under construction at 13410 E. Indiana. The tenants will be Furniture Row brands Oak Express, Bedroom Expressions, Sofa Mart, and Denver Mattress. Taylor Kohrs LLC, of Denver, is the contractor.


Just east of the Furniture Row complex, at the southwest corner of Indiana and Evergreen Road, Joes Inc., of Wilsonville, Ore., plans to open a 52,000-square-foot sporting-goods retail store this coming summer.


The $4 million structure, just west of the Spokane Valley Mall, is being built by Spokane-based Meridian Construction Inc. That area, Evergreen Crossing, also will be the site of a 10,000-square-foot retail shell to be built by Meridian Construction.


Prior to the construction of the first buildings in Pinecroft Business Park, there was virtually no development in the Mirabeau Point area, which is roughly south of Trent Avenue, north of Indiana Avenue, west of the Spokane River, and east of Pines Road, Miller says.


Centennial Properties wanted to develop the other end (the southeast portion of Mirabeau Point), and we went together on road improvements, he says.


Inland Empire Paper Co., of Spokane, which owned 230 acres of land in the Mirabeau Point area, donated 12 centrally located acres to YMCA of the Inland Northwest for a building site for an aquatic center.


The company also donated 58 acres for a building site for CenterPlace at Mirabeau Park community center and a public park.


Centennial Properties, a subsidiary of Inland Empire Paper Co., is owned by Cowles Publishing Co., a subsidiary of which owns the Journal of Business.


The $6 million, 48,000-square-foot YMCA building was constructed by Robert B. Goebel General Contractor Inc., of Spokane, in 1999.


CenterPlace, a $7.5 million, 54,000-square-foot building at 2426 N. Discovery Place, was built by Mooney & Pugh Contractors Inc., of Spokane, beginning in the spring of 2004. CenterPlace, which is owned by the city of Spokane Valley, houses the Spokane Valley Parks and Recreation Department and the Spokane Valley Senior Center and serves as a convention, meeting, and banquet facility.


CenterPlace was the venue last year for nearly 500 events ranging from small family gatherings to hundreds of meetings with hundreds in attendance.


In her state of the city address, Spokane Valley Mayor Diana Wilhite said, CenterPlace is truly becoming the regional gathering place it was envisioned to be.


South of CenterPlace, the Childrens Home Society of Washington opened an 8,300-square-foot family resource center, at 2323 N. Discovery Place, in 2004.


Next door, at 2315 N. Discovery Place, a $4 million, 12,000-square-foot Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife regional office was built in 2005.


To the north of CenterPlace is the 50-acre Mirabeau Point Park, which encompasses a 10-acre park called Mirabeau Meadows, a manmade waterfall called Mirabeau Springs, an undeveloped woodland, and other natural areas. The park area also provides access to the Centennial Trail, which runs through the north and east portions of the Mirabeau Point area, next to the Spokane River.


Continued park development is planned following the Washington Legislatures recent approval of $800,000 for a facility at Mirabeau Point called Childrens Universal Park. The childrens park amenities are expected to include features to help children of all abilities develop their skills in balancing, climbing, sorting, and counting, among other activities.


The Parkside at Mirabeau apartment complex, at 2900 N. Pines, south of Pinecroft Business Park, is the closest residential development to the park system. It includes 288 living units in 14 three-story buildings. Pinehurst Development LLC began developing the $20 million complex in 2005 and is now leasing apartments.


Miller says the Mirabeau Point area is an ideal place for a controlled mix of uses. Pinecroft Business Park, for instance, has tenants ranging from architectural firms to a kidney-dialysis center. Most of the clients are large national companies, including Ford Motor Credit Co., Amica Mutual Insurance Co., and CitiFinancial.


Miller says Pinecroft Business Park is actively trying to attract a deli-type restaurant, which he says will fit well near the Centennial Trail. He says he would also like to see some limited retail businesses in the Mirabeau Point area to serve tenants, their employees, and Parkside residents.


Contact Mike McLean at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at mikem@spokanejournal.com.