A development company led by a Spokane-area builder and a lawyer has started work on a $3.5 million office building on the South Hill.

Builder Mike Silvey, a partner in the development company, Legacy Group Development LLC, says the three-level structure, tentatively called the 29th & Martin Professional Building, will have a total of 37,000 square feet of floor space in two above-ground floors and a daylight basement.

Silvey owns Silvey Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley, the contractor on the project, located at 2008 E. 29th. Bernardo Wills Architects PS, of Spokane, designed the project.

Attorney Jamie Wolff, whose developments include a similar-sized medical office building at 12410 E. Sinto, near Valley Hospital & Medical Center, is the other partner in Legacy Group Development.

Silvey Construction has obtained a building permit from the city of Spokane for the project and has begun site work, Silvey says, adding that the project will be completed in about a year.

The developers and real estate agents have had contact with some potential tenants, whom Silvey declines to name. The building can be configured to handle three to 10 tenants, depending on the space needed by each user, he says.

Spokane-based Sterling Savings Bank is providing financing for the project, Silvey says.