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$6.5 million in telecommunications work to move Catalyst project forward

Architect Michael Green, left, and Avista Corp. chairman and CEO Scott Morris at the announcement of the Catalyst Building in February 2018. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
By Nicholas Deshais nickd@spokesman.com(509) 459-5440

More permits have been issued for work related to Avista Corp.’s Catalyst project at the south landing of the University District’s pedestrian bridge, according to city data.

About $6.5 million in work will be done on what the permits call the “EcoDistrict” at the intersection of Sprague Avenue and Sheridan Street. The work is entirely internal and related to telecommunications.

The first permits for the $50 million Catalyst Building were issued in December, signaling the beginning of construction for the five-story, 164,000-square-foot building. On East Sprague Avenue, the building will house three degree programs and about 1,000 Eastern Washington University students when it’s completed in April 2020. As the main tenant, EWU will move its computer science, electrical engineering and visual communication design programs from its Cheney campus to the building.

The structure will rely on cross-laminated timbers, a super-strong wood product developed by California-based Katerra. They will be produced at the company’s factory in Spokane Valley.

The building project is being developed jointly by Avista and McKinstry, which said it will be “the first net-zero energy and zero carbon building in Eastern Washington.”

Since the Catalyst Building was announced, Avista and McKinstry, a Seattle-based company that specializes in energy-efficient buildings, said they would build a second building in the blocks immediately surrounding the south foot of the pedestrian bridge. The four-story Hub facility will be 40,000 square feet and include a restaurant and office space. The building also will house a central energy plant to power it as well as the neighboring Catalyst Building. It too is anticipated to be complete in 2020.

Avista began buying property on the block near what has become the University District Gateway Bridge’s south landing in 2016. In all, it has acquired 1.5 acres on the block for nearly $4.4 million.

McKinstry is the contractor and architect on both projects.