A development company headed by the president of Spokane-based Scafco Corp. wants to develop a commercial and industrial park with up to 800,000 square feet of floor space and 800 parking spaces, at the former site of the Playfair horse racing track in east Spokane, say environmental applications filed recently.

Lawrence Stone, president of Scafco and head of the development company, Playfair Commerce Park LLC, couldn't be reached for comment.

Scafco owns Scafco Steel Stud Manufacturing Co. and Scafco Grain Systems Co.

It has applied to the Washington state Department of Ecology for a storm-water discharge permit, and the proposal also is under review by the city of Spokane. The 48-acre proposed site is located at 401 N. Haven, the former location of the Playfair Race Course.

The city's environmental checklist says that the development company wants to start construction of a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing building this summer that would be ready for Scafco to occupy next winter.

Other buildings, which would have a combined 700,000 square feet of floor space, would be developed over an estimated two to 10 years depending on market conditions, the document says. The development also would include 800 parking spaces, it says.

During the course of the project, about 350,000 cubic yards of material would be moved in grading at the site, and developers would pour about 3,500 cubic yards of concrete, documents show.

The Scafco building would be on the eastern 15 acres of the parcel. The remaining 33 acres would be divided into three blocks for construction of roads, buildings, parking lots, and utility infrastructure, the documents say.

Stone bought the Playfair property from the city last June for $2.1 million and said then that Scafco Corp. planned to move its Scafco Steel Stud Manufacturing plant there from 6200 E. Main. The city retained ownership of the 15 acres of land on the west side of the former Playfair site.

Scafco also operates a grain bin and silo factory, Scafco Grain Systems Co., at 5400 E. Broadway, which Stone said would remain there.

Ecology required the discharge permit application for the commerce park due to concerns that storm water from the development might enter the Spokane River via the city of Spokane's storm-water system, says Jani Gilbert, an Ecology spokeswoman. Playfair Commerce Park's application says no such runoff would occur and that storm water would drain into the ground "with no potential to reach surface waters under any conditions."

The city bought the 63-acre parcel for $6.3 million in 2004. Both the city and Spokane County had considered building a sewage treatment facility there, but the county later chose the former stockyards property located near Trent Avenue and Freya Street for its project site, and the city subsequently declared most of the the Playfair property as surplus.

Scafco Steel Stud Manufacturing Co. produces and stocks a large inventory of steel framing products, related fasteners, and tools. Scafco Grain Systems has designed and manufactured grain silo projects for more than 45 years. Its grain-storage systems range in capacity from 20 metric tons to more than 32,000 metric tons, its Web site says.