U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell was in Spokane today for a ground breaking ceremony for a new super energy efficient building near the University District.
Cantwell joined local officials in picking up a shovel and breaking ground on the new five-story, one-hundred and fifty thousand square-foot building. The structure will be on East Sprague near the landing of the new Gateway Bridge. Cantwell said the building will be the first net-zero energy and carbon building in eastern Washington.
“The Pacific Northwest has always been a leader in innovation," said Cantwell. "But this Catalyst Building takes what we’ve already seen in aviation and telecom and software development and hydro power and is now putting it all together in one of the smartest energy efficient buildings in the country.”
Eastern Washington University will be the building’s largest tenant. President Mary Cullinan says the building will bring 1,000 more students to Spokane.
“Eastern is going to move our electrical engineering, computer science and our visual communications design programs into this amazing new building,” Cullinan said.
While EWU will occupy more than half of the building, Cullinan says she’s excited that students will be sharing it with the other tenants.
“My hope is they will start working with McKinstry and Avista and Katerra, and before you know it, they will be working for those entities,” Cullinan said.
Avista and McKinstry are designing and constructing the Catalyst Building, and Katerra will provide cross-laminated timber. Mike Rock is Katerra‘s president of construction.
“Once the building is complete, Katerra is going to be a tenant," said Rock. "So you know of the saying ‘you make the bed you sleep in,’ that’s what we’re doing with this project right here.”
The building is expected to open in April 2020.