Just as the city of Spokane has awarded a contract to begin construction of the long-envisioned University District Gateway Bridge, district representatives are looking to replace the person in charge of guiding and promoting U District development.

Mark Mansfield, who the board hired as the district’s first executive director in June 2015, is “transitioning back to Oslo,” Norway, says Karl Otterstrom, chairman of the University District Board. “We’re just beginning the process of seeking a new executive director.”

Meantime, the city of Spokane last week awarded Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, a $9.3 million contract to construct the pedestrian bridge that will span between the Riverpoint campus and the East Sprague neighborhood.

Mansfield, who has Spokane roots, had lived in Oslo for 12 years before accepting the U District executive position.

He couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.

Otterstrom says Mansfield “made a family decision to maintain the residency in Norway.”

“We’re sorry to lose him,” Otterstrom says. “He has a strong commitment to the University District, and he’s still under contract to provide some services as we move to a new director.”

The University District Board planned to begin advertising this week to fill the position, he says.

When Mansfield stepped in as an employee of the nonprofit University District Development Association, he was quick to promote the planned bridge as the linchpin for expanding the reach of the University District into the East Sprague area.

More recently, in a column published in a University District magazine last October, he wrote, “(The bridge) connects the research and academic campuses with the hospital complex on the lower South Hill, furthering the mission of the University District.”

Marlene Feist, a city spokeswoman, says she anticipates bridge construction will begin as soon as weather conditions allow.

“It’s mostly an off-the-street system,” Feist says. “They’re probably going to be able to get going on site prep and start staging for the project.”

The bridge project is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

Garco submitted the lowest of seven bids, which included bids from Spokane-based Max J. Kuney Co. and West Co., of Airway Heights.

The 450-foot-long span with a 120-foot-high central arch is designed to be a landmark for the city, Feist says.

The initial design was developed by a consulting team that included KPFF Consulting Engineers, of Seattle; Taylor Engineering Inc., of Spokane; the Spokane office of GeoEngineers Inc.; the Spokane office of LMN Architects LLP; MW Consulting Engineers PS, of Spokane; SPVV Landscape Architects, of Spokane; and Northwest Dynamics Inc., of Coeur d’Alene.

The total budget for the Gateway Bridge is $15.4 million, which includes design, engineering, and land and right-of-way acquisition costs.

The state has committed $8.8 million in transportation funds toward the project, and the rest of the funding is coming through grants and other local sources.

The city has acquired about 20 parcels of land north of Sprague along an unimproved section of Riverside Avenue, where the south landing of the bridge will be constructed. The city also is performing the engineering work as part of its share of the project cost, Feist says.

The bridge will span Martin Luther King Jr. Way and the BNSF Railway Co. tracks, providing pedestrian access between the U District and the East Sprague community.

The north landing of the bridge will be just north of Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and just east of the planned $45 million, 300,000-square-foot Jensen-Byrd development.

As envisioned, that development, led by McKinstry Spokane LLC CEO Dean Allen and Seattle-based Trace Real Estate Services CEO Wally Trace, would involve renovating the historic, six-story Jensen-Byrd warehouse structure into 74,200 square feet of high-tech office space and 40,000 square feet of main floor retail and restaurant space.

Development plans include constructing a new, 83,000-square-foot office building between the former Jensen-Byrd building and the north bridge landing.

The developers plan to convert the former Pacific Fruit & Produce building at the southeast corner of Main Avenue and Pine Street into a 9,200-square-foot restaurant and entertainment venue.

The plans also include a 55,000-square-foot fitness center with an additional 3,300 square feet of retail space.

The Jensen Byrd development is envisioned to be completed in 2019.

Feist says some of the more immediate city investments that will help spur private development and economic growth in the area include a $6.9 million extension of Martin Luther King Jr. Way from Sherman Street to Trent Avenue with an accompanying extension of the Ben Burr Trail. 

In the East Sprague area, the city plans to reconstruct Sprague Avenue from Helena Street to Altamont Street this year. The project, which is budgeted for $8.5 million, will go out for bid next month, Feist says.

Otterstrom says the Gateway Bridge was first envisioned in a master plan for the University District in 2004, long before Mansfield came into the picture.