A private, nonprofit groups plans for an estimated $30 million science center on the north side of Riverfront Park are beginning to coalesce, says Chris Majer, the groups board chairman.


The group, Inland Northwest Science and Technology Center, has decided on a name for the estimated $30 million complex, has leased a downtown office space, has hired a development director to oversee fund-raising efforts, and has retained lobbyists in Olympia and Washington, D.C., Majer says.


Also, the group has begun writing a business plan, with help from Avista Corp. planners and Gonzaga University business students, and expects to present that plan to the Spokane Park Board by late May or early June, Majer says. Separately, two out-of-town development companies, working as a team, are studying the commercial potential of land adjoining the science center site, he says.


Our next big milestone is the presentation of the business plan, and as soon as that gets green-lighted, were under full sail, so were feeling quite good about the work done to date, he says.


The business plan will outline the financial viability of the project, and the park board will have the authority to approve or deny it, so that presentation will be crucial to whether the project moves forward.


The biggest question still looming is whether the nonprofit can raisethrough corporate sponsors; other local fund raising; and state, federal, and private grantsthe money needed to construct the science center. Majer says, though, Were all quite confident about our capacity to get this thing done.


There is no firm timetable yet for when the science center would be built, he says, but he estimates that it probably would take about a year and a half to raise construction funds and another year and a half to construct the center.


About $400,000 has been raised to date, including an anonymous contribution of $250,000, Majer says. He says most of that money already has been spent, though, on initial legal and technical groundwork, including arranging the lease of the 5.7-acre, city-owned site on which the science center is to be located.


The Spokane City Council voted in May 2003 to lease the site to the group at no cost for 50 years, with two 25-year extension options.


The group probably will begin seeking within the next few weeks to raise an additional $100,000 in startup operating capital, and within the next 30 to 60 days to begin a quiet phase of seeking major local contributions for development of the science center, Majer says.


As envisioned, the center would be a fish-shaped structure filled with education-oriented exhibits focusing on technology and the natural world as experienced in Spokane. It would include a new 3-D Imax theater at its tail, and an outdoor amphitheater, solar-powered fountains, an open grassy area, and a beach.


Its backers hope to see it also become the permanent home for a farmers market here, the permanent finish line for Bloomsday, and a focal point for many other community activities. Land north of the project site would be subleased for commercial development, and the rent collected from tenants there would be used to help pay the centers operating costs once its built.


After lengthy debate, the group spearheading the project has decided on SciTech as a name for the center and on Michael Anderson Plaza as a name for the entire piece of land leased from the city, Majer says.


Anderson was the astronaut and former Spokane-area resident who died on Feb. 1, 2003, over the southern U.S. when Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew perished during re-entry into the earths atmosphere.


Majer says the group has leased a 200-square-foot office space in Steam Plant Square and has hired former congressional staffer and public relations specialist Janet Gilpatrick as development director to supervise its financial initiatives, with help from a paid assistant.


Separately, he says, Aerosea Corp., of San Francisco, and Federal Development LLC, of Washington, D.C., are the two companies that are studying the potential of the commercial portion of the project. Theyre expected to complete that research by about late April, he says.