SPOKANE, Wash. — The Inland Northwest is growing. It’s a topic KREM 2’s reported on extensively.
When it comes to reporting on Spokane's growth, we're used to reacting to the news.
Well, what if instead of reacting, we're predicting? What's in store for the Spokane region? Where are the next hot spots?
To help us figure it out, KREM 2 turned to a few of the people whose jobs require them to have their finger on the region’s pulse and asked them to look into the crystal ball to make their predictions about where Spokane’s next hot spots could be.
We begin our journey at Spokane City Hall to meet with the city's Director of Community and Economic Development Steve MacDonald: "When I think of hotspot, I think of the focus that we've had on helping housing get built here because we have a crisis in housing.”
Some areas he's seeing excitement for now are Hillyard and downtown Spokane, as well as anywhere there's room for infill development -- usually older neighborhoods with space for multi-family homes.
"When done right, it does fit in well with the existing community,” said MacDonald.
Looking to the future, some areas he sees potential in are the three public development authorities overseeing the West Plains, Northeast Spokane, and the University District.
MacDonald said, "That will hopefully lead to more construction of industrial space, which is what we need because we need those higher-paying jobs in the region."
A couple of blocks away at the office of Greater Spokane Inc., Vice President of Economic Development Gary Ballew sat down to share his predictions.
"We look to the future,” said Ballew. “We have things like life sciences, we have clean tech, we have IT (information technology), and kind of how that expands. And then advanced manufacturing."
One hotspot he's predicting comes with the U.S. Department of Commerce choosing to make the Spokane area a regional technology hub.
While the hub will be physically located in the West Plains area, Ballew says it'll have a wider impact: “Our intent is that tech hub, one, helps companies grow, helps aerospace in the United States, but also helps the region grow and develop."
Right now Ballew said the organization expects the hub to be up and running within the next decade.
Finally, we go to realtor Hadyn Halsted, whose YouTube videos aim to help people learn more about the Lilac City and the surrounding Inland Northwest before making the move.
“I literally have a camera, I stick it out my window, and I just drive through the neighborhoods and show people what it looks like, and I just try to come from an honest approach," Halsted said.
Halsted predicts both the Latah Valley and Mead will explode within the next decade.
"In five to 10 years, the North-South Freeway is going to be done hopefully and so there's going to be new access to getting up there. It's going be a lot easier for people to justify making the drive up there, having a house up there,” he said.
According to Halsted, one property generating buzz is the Mead Works project next to Costco. It's being developed by Greenstone -- the same company responsible for Kendall Yards.
So, there you have it. We've asked our oracles to predict the future of Spokane. Yet only time will tell if they're right.
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