Downtown Plan Benefits
The Phoenix Project addresses many elements of the Downtown Plan for mixed-use facilities and economic development goals. It is almost as though the project were developed with the goals of the Downtown Plan in mind. The project will be the Mother of All Mixed-Use Facilities, making possible the other benefits described below: promoting business retention and recruitment, housing core infrastructure for the Terabyte Triangle, activating neighborhood and citywide economic development resources, and providing space for a downtown farmer's market and what the Downtown Plan calls "the rebirth of Second City."
Mixed Use
Chapter IV, Section 1 defines Mixed Use this way: "The development of multiple uses on neighboring properties, on a single site, or within one structure is encouraged throughout Downtown as denoted by the hatched areas on the land use map. Specifically, residential and/or office uses are encouraged over and adjacent to street level retail space. Creating a mix of residential, office, and commercial uses will foster a pedestrian-friendly, transit accessible urban environment and turn Downtown into an active place, day and night."
The Phoenix Project will serve as an anchor to the east end of downtown and a bridge to the University District, combining R&D, office, commercial, and light-manufacturing space within a single facility. Residential space could be accommodated in adjacent new construction, if necessary. The project is within a block of projected stops for the downtown streetcar and the light-rail line to the valley.
Business Retention and Recruitment
Chapter IV, Section 2.3 proposes "a technical assistance program for business retention and development." This is one of four priority Economic Development Program elements. "The program will target a broad range of business types and sizes, from large, established companies to small, start-up operations in all business sectors, including retail, office, high-tech, arts, entertainment, etc." Clearly the Phoenix Project's emphasis on a mixture of creative uses with a public market, professional services, neighborhood services, and startup space addresses this objective directly.
The Downtown Plan proposes the following actions to achieve these goals: "Identify funding sources and implement a program for entrepreneurial assistance, such as loan and grant programs, marketing assistance, and business incubators. (Immediate time-frame.)" The Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, Catalyst Seed Fund, Catalyst Early-Stage Capital Fund, Business Generator, A-Teams, and synergy strategy would achieve all these goals in the immediate time-frame.
Terabyte Triangle
Chapter IV, Section 2.5 proposes "a high-tech business cluster in the Terabyte Triangle (the area roughly bounded by Riverpoint Higher Education Park to the east, Browne's Addition to the west, and the Arena district to the north) through a structured and sustained marketing program." This is also one of four priority Economic Development Program elements. "The Terabyte Triangle will be a specialized zone where businesses have access to high-speed, cost-effective Internet connections. Complete the installation of required infrastructure and encourage property owners to connect their buildings to the high-tech network."
By including both the proposed GigaPoP and a Meet-Me Room, bringing true multi-gigabit access to the entire region, the Phoenix Project exceeds the vision proposed in the first action item for this objective: "Complete telecommunications infrastructure installment. (Immediate time-frame.)" The building already exists with available space within a short distance of all the major data pipelines through the area, along with the Spokane eMAN and a spur from NoaNet. Money has been granted to establish a GigaPoP in Spokane. It just needs a home. The high rooftop of the Jensen-Byrd building allows for immediate expansion of the Downtown HotZone into the University District, Gonzaga University, Logan Neighborhood, and East Central Neighborhood. The proposed Technology Showcase allows local equipment makers, software developers, and service providers to highlight their products working together in the same location, promoting cross-platform sales demonstrations, building the entire sector together rather than segregating the sales efforts of Terabyte Triangle technology companies.
The second action item encourages the City to "Work with real estate industry to attract new businesses. (Ongoing.)" and sees sources of funding that "include EDC, Riverpoint Higher Education Park, Focus 21, DSP, Private property owners (e.g. WSU Foundation), Real estate industry, and NWBDA." By partnering with the Phoenix Project, all these investors will be able to leverage the effectiveness of their investments through collaboration, synergy, and higher visibility, not just locally, but also globally, carried to the world by tourists and convention-goers who visit the Phoenix Project for entertainment and encounter the technology as well.
City Economic Development Function
Another of the four priority Economic Development Program elements is discussed in Chapter IV, Section 2.8. This objective of the Downtown Plan would seem to indicate the strong desire of the City to help implement the Phoenix Project as aggressively as possible: "Create an economic development function in the City to coordinate economic development programs such as land assembly, business incubators, marketing and financial assistance. The City economic development staff would work with other Downtown and development organizations such as DSP, the Chamber of Commerce, and EDC to recruit new businesses to the City of Spokane as a whole." The Phoenix Project would move the city quickly toward achieving this goal.
Neighborhood Economic Development
Chapter IV, Section 2.9 charges the city to "Provide targeted neighborhood economic development funding for wealth-generating activity consistent with Neighborhood Plans." The proposed actions: "Focus on wealth-generating economic development activity. Identify project specific actions (e.g., business incubators, affordable housing, job development). (1-5 year time-frame.)"
Being located across the river from Logan Neighborhood and within East Central Neighborhood, the Phoenix Project can contribute to this goal as well--the main objective of the project, after all, is "wealth-generating economic development activity." Although neighborhood development is not a specific goal of the Phoenix Project, it can certainly be a direct contributor to such development. For example, EWU is proposing a small-business incubator for the East Central Neighborhood, which can be located in a portion of the Phoenix Project. The participants in this incubator can benefit from the services and professionals located in the project, along with the other startups that have more national aspirations.
Logan Neighborhood anticipates a District Center around the intersection of Trent and Hamilton, whose new mixed-use buildings could be filled, in part, by graduates of the Phoenix Project. Likewise, ethnic restaurants that test their concept in the Phoenix Project may graduate to larger facilities in the proposed International District just across the Ponte Vecchio-like bridge over the light-rail line and railroad tracks, also located in the East Central Neighborhood. In fact, companies graduating from the Phoenix Project will be likely to relocate throughout the city.
Downtown Public Market
Chapter IV, Section 2.12 specifies that the creation of "an open-air public market on a Downtown site that would support residential uses and attract visitors from across the City and County. The market could be seasonal, weekly, and/or daily, depending on the demand." The Phoenix Project is a logical home for this market, which works in symbiosis with the other elements of the project. Space is available for year-round use, just like at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, in a funky old industrial building, just like the Pike Place Market, and can expand into open-air space during the spring and summer months. The market will be within walking distance of a growing number of residential units in the East End of downtown and proposed developments along East Sprague, as well as students and other residents of the University District and adjacent neighborhoods.
These are the action items proposed by the Downtown Plan: "Identify potential tenants and facility needs. Select and lease site. Operate market. The market may be weekly and seasonal at first and expanded if demand exists. (1-5 year time-frame.)" The Phoenix Project is committed to taking these actions to ensure that a full-scale public market is on-line in the city in the shortest possible time-frame. Assistance from the City's economic development department, EDC, Chamber of Commerce, DSP, and other organizations would be welcome and essential to its success. Considering the success of the Pike Place Market, which ramps up for Christmas season just as the fresh foods season comes to an end, and serves midwinter convention visitors and skiers until local crops are again available, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that a similar, if smaller-scale, success will happen here.
The Downtown Plan identified the following possible sources of funding: "Community fundraising, foundations, operating fees, market revenues, microenterprise loan fund (NWBDA, SNEDA)." Early analysis shows that the public market section of the Phoenix Project can operate profitably out of revenues, like the Pike Place Market (assuming a warehouse-equivalent lease rate from WSU). If these other sources of funds would help get the market in operation faster, so much the better.
A seasonal market has been proposed for the Post Street Bridge, which could expand the market locally for fresh produce. Because of the potential Post Street market's proximity to the West Central neighborhood, residents in western downtown, and the new Summit Site development, it's likely that both markets could flourish. It's also been proposed that a year-round public market be built near the Spokane Falls, an extremely attractive location with a lot of historical resonance. Such a permanent market would require expensive new construction, however, and would most likely take several years to come to fruition. Because of the higher-cost space, it would most likely be geared toward higher-end vendors and customers, unless a multimillion-dollar grant can be obtained. (Portland, Maine built a tremendous new facility using such a grant.) In the meantime, the Phoenix Project can house a farmers market immediately and inexpensively. Even if a new public market is eventually built by the Falls, it may be that the two markets address different needs and can both thrive. If necessary, the flexible space in the Phoenix Project can be put to other uses.
In the short term, there is no alternative, large-scale, public market space that can be made available quickly as a long-term home for existing farmer's market tenants and the other uses projected for the Phoenix Project public market space. This space will not only make fresh fruits and vegetables and other locally produced products more easily available to consumers, but will also promote the growth of existing producers and development of new ones, including truck farms in Spokane's Latah Creek neighborhood, who will be able to generate larger returns by selling directly to consumers. In addition, the market could work synergistically with WSU's small farm program, which promotes small-scale agricultural development in the region and value-added co-ops and businesses such as packaged- and frozen-food makers.
Rebirth of Spokane's Second City
Chapter IV, Section 7.3 of the Downtown Plan proposed turning the Metro Block by the Fox Theater into a rebirth of Spokane's Second City. "The creativity and dynamic energy of the renovation program will make the Metro Block a major anchor within the Davenport Arts District and further enhance the character of the Downtown retail core." Second City was unfortunately not reborn in that location, although The Big Easy and other entertainment venues were built there. The Arts District is doing phenomenally well without the original Metro Block plan. Reviving the Second City concept, though, and housing those activities in the Phoenix Project, would begin the revival of a second large area on the eastern fringe of Downtown.
As the Downtown Plan puts it: "This site will be a creative business incubator attracting artists, writers and designers in addition to high-tech businesses in the technology industry." In fact, by being co-located with the GigaPoP and Meet-Me Room, smack in the middle of the University District, along the proposed streetcar line down Main Street, across the street from SIRTI's new Technology Center, and filled with the personnel infrastructure aimed at helping develop and grow startups, the Phoenix Project is the ideal location to achieve this objective in the shortest time.
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