'Genuine momentum building': Northeast Spokane's economic development authority eyes expansion

Jun. 21—The taxpayer-funded economic development organization that recruits businesses to northeast Spokane wants to expand its borders.

Spokane and Spokane County re-established the Northeast Public Development Authority in 2019. It covers approximately 1,700 acres of city and county land between Minnehaha Park and Magnesium Road, and receives roughly $300,000 a year in tax revenue.

In presentations this month to the Spokane City Council and Spokane County Commission, Northeast Public Development Authority Executive Director Jesse Bank proposed two additions to the entity's boundaries.

One would bring a long, thin strip of land west of Market Street into the public development authority's jurisdiction. Another would add a large tract of unincorporated and mostly undeveloped land north of Magnesium Road.

The City Council and county commission will vote on the proposed additions in the coming weeks.

Local governments have formed dozens of public development authorities throughout Washington. Cities and counties have used them to support the arts, finance jails and build 911 dispatch facilities, but they're frequently created for economic development purposes.

Many public development authorities focus on marketing their areas in hopes of luring in businesses. They can also offer financial incentives and build infrastructure to reduce the cost of new construction. Oftentimes, public development authorities help out-of-town companies find an ideal location or navigate the local permitting process.

"This is to promote economic development, create jobs, get people working," Spokane County Commissioner Josh Kerns said.

The Northeast Public Development Authority relies on local sales and property tax revenue.

The city and county have a convoluted and imperfect process for funding it, but the public development authority theoretically gets 75% of all new sales and property tax revenue generated within its boundaries since 2019. As tax revenues go up, it gets more money.

"When the neighborhood does better, the PDA does better," Bank said. "It becomes this self-fulfilling loop."

The public development authority doesn't cost taxpayers extra. The county and city are simply giving it a portion of their normal revenue.

"It doesn't increase taxes," Kerns said. "The revenue to run it comes from the growth that occurs within there."

Bank said the two proposed additions to the public development authority's boundaries would have a handful of benefits.

The southern addition would bring in Jubilant HollisterStier, a pharmaceutical company, and place the entire Market Street corridor within the public development authority's domain. Right now the street is arbitrarily cut in two, Bank said.

The northern addition would give the public development authority large, undeveloped parcels of land, which Bank said will help with business recruitment.

Bringing that area into the public development authority could help spur new construction, Bank said.

He noted that real estate developer Lancze Douglass has multiple properties north of Magnesium Road sitting vacant. Bank said enticing companies to start building in the neighborhood could "induce" Douglass to develop his sites.

Douglass did not return a call seeking comment.

Bank said he believes northeast Spokane is "ripe and ready" for economic growth.

"There is genuine momentum building now," he said. "Things are happening in the northeast."