Stubborn weather failed to hinder STEP project

All things considered, the Spokane Tribe of Indians seem to have accomplished nothing short of a miracle when it was announced on Dec. 20 that their new casino in Airway Heights would open its doors on Jan. 8, 2018. That's just days after their anticipated opening which the tribe thought would take place sometime in 2017.

Breaking ground this past November, they first experienced one of the most crippling of cold and snowy construction seasons.

Old Man Winter certainly had his share of making life difficult for many in the region with doses of both bitter cold and significant dumps of snow.

But the tribe danced around these potential roadblocks as they raced to try to open the first phase of their Spokane Tribe Economic Project - STEP.

At times to a passersby who drove along U.S. Highway 2 during much of the early weeks of construction, there might not seem to have been much activity going on behind the line of heavy equipment on the eventual 145-acre site.

The fact that machinery was sitting idle along the highway west of Airway Heights, "Is deceiving from the highway and Spoko Fuel," a tribal spokesman said.

The steel superstructure of the first buildings began being erected in late February on what is anticipated to ultimately be a $400 million project.

It is obvious that earth had been moved on the site, which had its official groundbreaking last Nov. 9. That was not long after the wettest October on record and prior to a winter included seasonal norms for snow - and featured a January that was the coldest in some 30 years.

According to the STEP website, the project, being built in a number of phases, consists of a casino-resort facility, parking facilities, retail space, tribal cultural center, commercial space and a fire and police station. Phase one, consisting of about 30,000 – 40,000 square feet, includes a casino with approximately 450 gaming machines, 12 table games, plus food and beverage amenities.

A full build-out and operation will bring over 5,000 full time and construction jobs to the region the tribe said. Over 1,200 construction jobs with wages of approximately $65 million will be created over the phased build-out. Post-construction total annual payroll is estimated to top $66 million.

The project began in February 2006 when the Spokane Tribal Council filed the application for the project with the Secretary of the Interior. It would take nine more years before the effort would gain the approval of key governmental elements, including Interior, which gave its blessing in June 2015. The final hurdle was passed in July 2016 when Washington Gov. Jay Inslee gave his approval.

At last fall's groundbreaking, tribal chair Carol Evans said, "We would have hoped we would have started at least a month ago. It just took longer."

The Spokane Tribe hired Swinerton Builders as the general contractor for Phase One construction. Swinerton is a 125-year-old company with offices located in Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Hawaii and Texas.

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