When the Spokane Public Facilities District asked the city of Spokane last week to condemn land on the block south of its downtown convention facilities, it did so with the conviction that it will need the land and with the belief that an unusual condition by one owner on the sale of his land had been withdrawn.


That, says PFD Executive Director Kevin Twohig, left only one obstaclepricebut its an obstacle that he contends the PFD hadnt been able to overcome so far without seeking condemnation.


The block the PFD wants to own fully is bounded by Spokane Falls Boulevard, Main Avenue, and Washington and Bernard streets. It was one of two sites considered in 2003 for construction of the $89 million Group Health Exhibit Hall, which the agency built instead at the northwest corner of Spokane Falls Boulevard and Division Street.


When the PFD board selected the latter site for that project, it said that it also intended to acquire all of the other block, known as the south block, Twohig says. He says the PFD doesnt have enough parking for its convention facilities now, even though it included more than 400 parking spaces in the new exhibit hall.


We dont have enough parking for the Convention Center, and the INB Performing Arts Center already had a parking shortage, so we made that a little worse when the exhibit hall was built, Twohig says.


The proposed condemnation is controversial. Spokane architect Glen Cloninger, one of the owners of the property the district covets, says he believes the PFDs board is threatening condemnation either as a negotiating tactic or to bully him into accepting less than market value for his land.


You dont have to condemn the property to get the property; all you have to do is to pay a fair price, asserts Cloninger, who says he owns more than half of the block, some parcels with partners.


What condemnation is for is when people wont sell their land, he adds. Im offering to sell my land. Were going to condemnation just to establish a price.


The PFD already owns part of the block, and Seattle-based Diamond Parking Inc., the only other property owner in the block, owns about 18,000 square feet of land there and is trying to put together a sale of its property to the PFD, says Dan Geiger, the companys regional vice president here.


For many years, the PFD has wanted to buy it, and to be honest with you, Glen has wanted to buy it, too, Geiger says. Were trying to get a deal done with the PFD. We dont want to get in the way of development. The PFD does need the block for future development.


Some things have changed in the shifting dynamics between the property owners. For years, Cloninger has insisted on the unusual condition that he be named as the architect who designs the next expansion of the PFDs convention facilities before he would agree to sell his property.


He now has dropped that condition, Cloninger says, adding, Im not holding that over their heads any longer.


Diamond, meanwhile, will ask the PFD for the parking concession in its expansion project, Geiger says.


We park cars for a living, and use the proceeds from that activity to build Diamonds real estate portfolio, Geiger says. Diamonds policy on selling property long has been to insist on receiving market value for its landand to ask for the parking concession that results from any new development on the property it sells, although it cant always get that, Geiger says. The PFD, Geiger says, has been a business partner with us for a long time, with Diamond managing parking for the PFD at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.


The PFD and Diamond, however, have yet to agree on a value for Diamonds holdings, Geiger says.


Expansions next phase


Twohig says that in March of 2004, the PFD had LMN Architects PS, of Seattle, describe the envisioned next phase of convention center expansion on the south block. LMN, which designed the Group Health Exhibit Hall with Integrus Architecture PS, of Spokane, prepared a memo on future expansion, and the PFD board discussed the memo in a board meeting, which was open to the public, Twohig says.


While the memo is general in tone, it says the south expansion program identifies 50,000 square feet of usable convention center space that would include a 40,000-square-foot ballroom and 10,000 square feet of meeting rooms. Such an expansion, the memo says, would bring the convention complexs total ballroom and meeting-room space up to 50 percent of its total exhibit space, which is a desirable rule of thumb for convention facilities. Also, the memo says, the 40,000-square-foot ballroom would give the complex a sufficiently large space for a secondary exhibit hall that would be suitable for events such as gift and jewelry shows, but wouldnt be compatible with heavy exhibit usage. Finally, it says lobby and support space would boost convention center construction to about 175,000 square feet.


In addition, some businesspeople here have said that if the district expanded on the south block, it should design the expansion so the entire convention complex would tie in better with the rest of the downtown than it does now.


I am for the expansion of the facilities, says Cloninger, who claims he has no desire to block efforts by the PFD and the city of Spokane to add desirable public facilities in the downtown area.


Geiger says that last June, while Diamond had before it a long-standing offer from the PFD of $70 a square foot for its property, Cloninger offered to pay Diamond $80 a square foot, and in the fall Cloninger beefed up his offer to $100 a square foot, but we never accepted it.


Cloninger says, We put a purchase-and-sale agreement together on the $100-a-square-foot offer. I wrote in there that the city had the right of first refusal for 90 days. I got financing from the bank. Diamond never took that offer. I sent a copy of that offer to the PFD.


On Oct. 30, the PFD made Diamond an offer after having had the block appraised by Peter Shorett, of GVA Kidder Matthews, of Seattle, Geiger says. He declines to say what value Shorett put on Diamonds property because Diamonds deal with the PFD isnt done.


Cloninger makes it plain that he is asking more for his property than the $100 a square foot that he offered Diamond, but doesnt want to say precisely how much he is asking. He says Spokane developer Mark Pinch offered to pay the YMCA $145 a square foot for the land in Riverfront Park where its downtown facility is located, and he adds that the Park Board matched Pinchs offer when it exercised an option to buy the property. Cloninger asserts that his property is worth as much as the YMCAs.


Says Twohig, The properties dont seem very comparable to me.


Cloninger contends that condemnation often backfires, and government agencies end up paying hefty legal costs and higher court-ordered prices for property than they expected when they began eminent domain proceedings. Besides, he says, I havent had an offer from the PFD (Public Facilities District) for three years.


We have corresponded with him, counters Twohig. He canceled the meeting where we were going to hand the appraisal to him last fall. Theres been a long history of meetings with Glen.


Twohig concedes that property-rights issues are a major concern in many places in the U.S., including in Washington state. Its not like eminent domain is a very nice word right now, he adds, but I think this is exactly what eminent domain is for, when property is needed to do something for the public good, and someone is not willing to accept market value for their property.


Twohig says he regards the PFD boards vote to ask for condemnation as a step in the process. Im still optimistic we will be able to complete the property purchase with Glen through negotiations.


The PFD asked the City Council to condemn the property because it has no eminent domain authority of its own, and if the council says no, we cant do it, Twohig says. There may be no way to do this.


He says he sent the PFDs resolution to the City Council late last month, but believes the council probably wont take action until after the citys legal staff has had time to look at the matter.


I dont think this is going to happen in a week or two, he says.


Contact Richard Ripley at (509) 344-1261 or via e-mail at editor@spokanejournal.com.