Washington State and Eastern Washington universities want to accelerate construction of a proposed $45 million biomedical building on the Riverpoint Campus here, and in an unusual step are seeking funds for two design phases of the project this legislative funding cycle.

Barb Chamberlain, spokeswoman for Washington State University at Spokane, says state Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, of Spokane, plans to seek $4 million this session for design of the building, in addition to $250,000 that Gov. Chris Gregoire has included for the pre-design phase of the project in her proposed budget for the 2009-2011 biennium.

In the pre-design phase, the university would determine more exact cost estimates, the location, occupants, and uses of the proposed structure, Chamberlain says. The design stage "would proceed from there all the way through complete construction documents," she says.

Pre-design and design phases for such projects typically are funded in separate bienniums. If pre-design and design funds are approved in one biennial budget cycle, the faster funding could trim two years off a normal six-year design and construction schedule, says Ryan Ruffcorn, WSU's project manager here.

The universities are still evaluating what programs they would house in the building, Ruffcorn says, although early concepts for the proposed 86,000-square-foot structure include an animal research facility, an applied science lab for contract research operations, and infrastructure for high-performance computing.

If all of the design work is done in one biennium, "construction theoretically could begin in 2011, and it would be ready to occupy in 2013," Ruffcorn says.

The biomedical building would be the next major project at Riverpoint following the recent completion of the $35 million, 80,000-square-foot WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing building.

Although a site hasn't been selected for the proposed biomedical building yet, one option would be to build it on vacant land directly east of the five-story College of Nursing building, he says. That building is located at the northeast corner of Spokane Falls and Riverpoint boulevards, about a block east of Division Street.

The project would advance the goal of the universities to expand health-sciences programs at Riverpoint, which has five main academic buildings and several ancillary structures, Ruffcorn says.

Since the project isn't far enough along in planning, it wouldn't be eligible for inclusion in federal or state economic stimulus bills under consideration, he says.

"Any funding would not come until July with the new biennium," Ruffcorn says.