The Spokane Public Facilities District board plans to name a general contractor-construction manager for the Spokane Convention Center expansion project on June 17, says Kevin Twohig, the districts executive director.


Representatives of eight general contractors attended a mandatory meeting April 25, which qualified those companies to vie for the job. The boards selection process includes choosing finalists, conducting interviews, and reviewing final bid proposals. Meanwhile, the district is close to getting approval to sell bonds to fund the project, and its about a month away from choosing the expansion projects site, Twohig says.


The district expects the entire project, including property acquisition, construction, and contingencies, to cost about $76 million. Of that amount, about $50 million would be available for construction purposes, the district says.


Attending the mandatory prequalification meeting late last month were representatives of Bouten Construction Co., Garco Construction Inc., and R.B. Goebel General Contractor Inc., of Spokane, as well as Lydig Construction Inc. and Shea Graham Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley. Other companies represented there included Hoffman Contractors Inc., of Spokane County south of Opportunity; Mortenson Construction, of Seattle; and the Seattle branch of Dallas-based Turner Construction Co.


Those companies, should they choose to, must submit their qualifications to the district by May 12. Based on those documents, the board will narrow the candidate pool to three or more companies, and those applicants will be interviewed May 28. The finalists then must submit their final proposals for the project June 13, and the board is expected to select the general contractor-construction manager at its June 17 meeting.


The expansion plan includes adding about 100,000 square feet of new exhibit-hall space, about 20,000 square feet of ballroom space, 800 to 1,200 parking spaces, and 24,000 square feet of meeting rooms. The district plans to add the meeting rooms primarily by remodeling parts of the Convention Center and Ag Trade Center space.


Meanwhile, geotechnical and environmental-impact studies on the two sites being considered for the expansion were completed last week and determined that either of the two proposed sites, or a combination of them, qualify as possible locations for the future center.


The east site encompasses about six acres directly east of the Convention Center and beside and behind the DoubleTree Hotel Spokane City Center. Its bounded by the Spokane River on the north, Division Street on the east, and Spokane Falls Boulevard on the south. A skywalk would connect the east end of the Ag Trade Center to the proposed convention center expansion structure, the district says.


The four-acre south site is directly south of the Convention Center and the Spokane Opera House, and is bounded by Spokane Falls Boulevard on the north, Bernard Street on the east, and Washington Street on the west. Main Avenue would be the southern boundary for the expansions main facility, but, as currently envisioned, some support services would be housed across that street to the south with access to those services on Riverside Avenue. Skywalks and sky bridges across Spokane Falls Boulevard and Main Avenue would connect the structures.


Twohig said earlier this week, though, that he planned to recommend to the board that it no longer consider including that service space on the block between Main and Riverside. He says its more feasible, if the south site is selected, to include those service functions in the main building.


The district also is considering a composite site that would involve construction of exhibit halls on the east site and a parking facility on the south site.


Integrus Architecture PS, of Spokane, is designing the project, and LMN Architects, of Seattle, is a subconsultant to Integrus.


The district board is finalizing a plan to finance the Spokane Convention Center expansion, Twohig says. Under the plan, Spokane County, the city of Spokane, and the city of Spokane Valley each would sell part of the $70 million in bonds to pay for the expansion. Those entities also must approve the plan, but Twohig says they are close to doing so.


Were hoping within the next 10 days to wrap up the financial plan, he said on May 1. We expect that all three agencies will issue their own bonds.