Examples of Services and Tenants
The Phoenix Project would serve not only its own tenants, but also the University District and the surrounding community, in several ways. The project's services, like the copy shop and day-care facility, will be open to anyone. The project's professionals will have clients throughout the community. And, of course, the International Marketplace, the art-film theater, and other retail organizations will attract tourists, as well as students, faculty, staff, and community residents. The project also directly addresses several goals of the Downtown Plan, including mixed-use development, business retention and recruitment, Terabyte Triangle and telecom development, wealth-generating economic development activity, downtown public market, and the rebirth of Spokane's Second City. (For exact references and more analysis of the Downtown Plan, see “Downtown Plan Benefits,” below.)
The Phoenix Project will provide:
- dirt-cheap, raw space for startups
- higher-quality space for professionals and support services
- a full range of services available for startups
- superlative Internet access with private peering available
- ground-floor space for approved retail, service, and entertainment businesses
- web-hosting/co-locating service providers with national aspirations, linked to the GigaPoP and meet-me room
Examples follow, showing what kinds of people, organizations, and services will bring the Phoenix Project to life.
Support Services for Startups
These services, which in and of themselves may also be new businesses creating new jobs, make it possible for startups to focus on what they do best--developing a product or service for a national or international market. By sharing these facilities and services, startups will have access to support functions characteristic of a much larger company:
- fulfillment service with ordertaking and processing capabilities for mail-order and e-commerce businesses
- shared warehouse space
- shipping and receiving support
- cool reception area with receptionist
- voice mail
- teleconferencing capability
- conference rooms
- game room for blowing off steam
- copiers
- faxes
- gigabit ethernet access
Potential Entertainment and Retail
These businesses will serve not only people who work in the Phoenix Project and students, faculty, and staff from the University District, but are a bridge to the community and region. Many will be startups themselves, testing new ideas in a low-cost, low-risk environment. This is the Second City aspect of the project.
- Farmer's market
- An international marketplace
- Cafes and restaurants with shared facilities, such as Russian, Indian, Greek, Japanese yakisoba, Chinese dumplings, Neapolitan pizza--options that may not be available otherwise
- Art-film theater with at least four screens
- Public radio station with auditorium for live shows
- Electronic component suppliers
- Trader Joe's or something similar
- Shops: niche books, beads, posters, ethnic markets (e.g. Asian, Russian, Indian)
- Downstairs speakeasy
Other potential community-oriented retail tenants include:
- day care
- copy shop
- dry cleaner
- gym/health club
- computer manufacturing/repair
- test laboratories for electronic equipment
Potential Technology Startups
Not all startups will focus on technology, but many will, and others will use technologies in the service of other nontechnology markets. Ideally, many startups with synergistic or symbiotic relationships will be developed together, serving as testbeds and initial customers for each other's products. Some possibilities:
- AJAX developers
- niche websites and web services (ala locally-founded Docent and SAAInteractive.com)
- Linux software distributor
- Linux windows overlay developer
- Linux support provider
- blade server manufacturer
- web consulting companies focusing on high-volume, rapid-scaling technologies
- power-plant optimization software company
- hardware development companies (early stage)
- web-support services (tools, images, templates, blog hosting)
- web-distributed software companies (ASPs similar to Salesforce.com and Maplewood Software)
- Internet communities (like gamerZunion.com)
- e-commerce companies
- content companies
- embedded systems developers
- data-mining software
- RFID data analysis company
- 3-D animation and modeling
- web backup and recovery
Other Startups
Nontechnology startups would build on local or regional areas of expertise, often using computer technology in a supporting role. The agriculture, metal products, and wood products sectors need products and services that improve their performance, provide added value for their own products, improve sales and distribution of existing products, and so on. Completely new nonelectronic technologies based on research at WSU, UI, MSU, UM, and PNNL will also produce new products reaching new markets. Possibilities include:
- wood products company support services
- agricultural support services
- mining and geological support services, such as 3-D modeling
- engineered lumber design and manufacturing
- wood products applications, including doors, windows, and modular construction for a national market
- distribution software
- construction management software
- energy software
- power-company services
- health-care software
- travel internet site
- music internet site
- DVD mail-order/e-commerce business
- Buckler Bicycle Works
- metal products
Other Space
The Phoenix Project can also serve the community by creating spaces that promote local products, musicians, artists, and craftspeople, as well as supporting nearby institutions. Ideas include:
- Technology Showcase for product demonstrations (e.g. from Itronix, ReliOn, Purcell, World Wide Packets)
- Presentation space/auditorium
- Rehearsal space
- Gift and craft center
- Mike Phalen's design center
- Artists' lofts (if it works and is allowed by code)
- SIRTI overflow
Professional Tenants
To maximize interaction between professional advisers, support services, and startups, it's important to have them all located in the project. These advisers are self-selected in the sense that they choose to work with startups as opposed to traditional businesses, so co-locating is beneficial to them, as well. However, it's likely that they will have customers and clients from throughout the community, which will add to the region's dense network of relationships. Potential professional tenants include:
- attorneys
- accountants
- bookkeepers
- computer and networking technicians
- writers
- designers
- web developers
- advertising firms
- PR and marketing firms
- think tanks, ala Institute for the Future, Rocky Mountain Institute
- human resources consultants
- executive recruiters
- law offices with expertise in intellectual property and startups, including branches of national firms like Wilson Sonsini
- one or more bank branch/loan offices specializing in startup support--from Silicon Valley Bank if not a local bank
- design firms
- business consultants
- translators and interpreters
Entrepreneurial Support
Many nonprofit and governmental organizations provide support to startups and growing companies. Some of them may choose to locate in the project; others may open a small satellite office to give them better access to potential clients located there, or simply to be part of the entrepreneurial mix.
- AHANA
- SNEDA
- NWBDA
- Angel groups
- Venture capital fund offices and branch offices
- Bank loan offices
- EFGN
- Connect Northwest
Creative Tenants
The Phoenix Project will be home to many kinds of creative activities, both to provide inexpensive space for art to grow and to provide the opportunity for mutual benefit between the startups and the artists. For example, writers and artists may be able to supplement their income writing and designing marketing materials.
- Sound stage for film & television production
- Spokane Public Radio (KPBX & KSFC)
- Potters
- Jewelry makers
- Painters
- Sculptors
- Writers' grotto
- Musicians' rehearsal space
- Dramatic rehearsal space
- Recording studio
- Film/video/DVD editing facility
- T-shirt maker
- Graphic designers
- Advertising agencies
- Public relations agencies
- Foreign language center
- International radio station
Infrastructure
Although the original building itself will be somewhat rustic, with raw brick walls and wooden floors and ceilings, the technology infrastructure will be state-of-the art. The project can even be used to showcase technologies developed in the region (or by startups within the project itself).
- Wireless antennas to complete wireless downtown and extend the HotZone to the east and north.
- GigaPoP to serve as backup to Seattle's GigaPoP
- Peer-to-peer Meet Me Room for Spokane's five broadband trunk lines, offering quintuple redundancy to tenants
- Double-redundant power supply
- ReliOn fuel cell backup power
- Two large freight-capable elevators plus an additional passenger elevator
- Full sprinkler system (existing)
- Heating (existing in all areas except former steel warehouse)
- Air conditioning (existing on top floor)
- Emergency fire doors in tower
Additional Development
The Request for Proposals issued by WSU includes several acres of additional land adjacent to the Jensen-Byrd complex. This land is apparently included as an inducement for those interested in the Jensen-Byrd complex to include new construction as part of their proposal. This new construction can be developed as traditional Class A office space for unaffiliated businesses and organizations, or as higher-quality space for later-stage businesses, perhaps in combination with conventional retail and apartments for students who want to live on-campus. Condominium and town-house construction is unlikely because the entire project could revert to WSU in as little as 20 years and in any case is to be handed over at no cost to WSU in 55 years, making ownership of any unit a difficult proposition.
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