STEP project groundbreaking takes place

On an aptly themed unusually warm November day with not a cloud in the sky, the Spokane Tribe of Indians officially broke ground on their long-awaited casino project in Airway Heights Nov. 9.

With a crowd estimated in the neighborhood of 200 tribal members, local dignitaries and others on hand, the first shovels of dirt were turned in the first phase of what will ultimately be a $400 million project.

The history and scope of this project made it the Cheney Free Press's No. 1 business story in 2016.

Phase 1A of the project will include an approximately 30,000 to 40,000 square foot casino featuring 500 slot machines, a dozen gaming tables, restaurant and an outside entertainment venue. It is anticipated to be complete in the fall of 2017.

"We would have hoped we would have started at least a month ago," tribal chair Carol Evans said. "It just took longer."

Planned for 145 acres of land bordered by U.S. Highway 2 on the south and Craig Road to the east, STEP will be constructed in phases. The timeline for full project build-out, which includes a hotel and retail structures, will stretch at least a decade. STEP is short for Spokane Tribe Economic Project and is estimated to create some 5,000 total jobs, both in construction and later when in operation.

The translation of the Spokane name is "children of the sun" or "sun people" and Evans did not miss that connection in remarks both before and after the ceremony.

"It's a beautiful day," Evans said.

The day that officially began construction has long been circled on the calendars for the Spokane's who initiated the process to locate an off-reservation gaming operation a decade ago.

"We have so many to thank for this day, it's been a long time coming," Evans said.

The process began in February 2006 when the Spokane Tribal Council filed the application for the project with the Secretary of the Interior.

At the time it was not thought possible that it would take nine more years before the project would gain the approval of key governmental elements, including Interior which gave its blessing in June of 2015, Evans told the gathering under and outside a large open-sided tent.

"A year later the governor (Jay Inslee) approved it," Evans said. That OK from Olympia came in June of this year and the tribe unveiled its plans at a July 14 news conference.

Evans listed off a lengthy number of fellow tribes in the state of Washington, which sent letters of support to the governor.

The behind-the-scenes efforts that led up to turning the first dirt were complex.

That included what Evans called, "A very extensive EIS (environmental impact statement) process," that took the better part of a decade.

"We had to develop a good project," she said. "We had to address questions that came up from the federal partners, the people who were participating."

The project has come under fire from a number of areas, most notably groups who fear it could impact the future of nearby Fairchild Air Force Base and its several billion dollar economic impact on the region.

The point was made that perhaps the tribe could move the project so it did not pose a threat, but Evans gave a brief history lesson that the land has historical significance as the site of "The Battle of 1858" with Col. George Wright.

Airway Heights City Manager Albert Tripp, whose community will likely derive benefits from hosting its second major casino, spoke on behalf of the project.

"What a great day this is," Tripp said. "Ten years ago when the Spokane Tribe started this process there was a clear vision about the need for economic development to bring prosperity for the Spokane Tribe."

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.