The Spokane Public Facilities District is moving forward with plans to redevelop an aging surface parking lot on the so-called "south block" property downtown where it hopes to expand the Spokane Convention Center complex.

Meanwhile, a Spokane County Superior Court judge has rejected a motion filed by Diamond Parking Inc., of Seattle, to dismiss a suit to condemn Diamond's property on the block, allowing the PFD to continue its planning efforts.

The block, bounded by Spokane Falls Boulevard, Main Avenue, and Washington and Bernard streets, is directly south across Spokane Falls from the convention center complex. Ultimately, the district hopes to build a parking garage and to expand the convention center there.

In the near-term, the district is seeking proposals from vendors interested in designing a parking lot there that could cost about $1.5 million, says Kevin Twohig, executive director of the district. Proposals are due Dec. 5, and the PFD's board likely will select a designer at its Dec. 9 meeting for the project, he says. It plans to begin constructing the parking lot next spring.

The district plans to raze the lone building on the property, located at 333 W. Spokane Falls Blvd., which currently is leased by Blvd. House of Music LLC, operator of the Blvd., a concert venue there. The district recently decided to terminate the bar and music venue's lease as of Jan. 13, but at the business's request has extended the lease to April 4, Twohig says.

Once the building is demolished, the project would entail removing the asphalt, sidewalks, and light poles on the entire south block property, then regrading the site and reconstructing a parking lot with about 300 spaces. Twohig says the current parking lot has a lot of aging pavement and needs to be brought up to code.

The district likely will contract out administration of the lot, Twohig says.

The surface parking lot is the first of three phases the district envisions for the property, Twohig says. It recently selected ALSC Architects PS, of Spokane, to do a feasibility study of potential expansion plans for the property, which include first developing the surface parking lot, then developing a parking garage on the property, and later expanding the Convention Center there, Twohig says. That study should be ready in the spring, he says.

Its plans have hinged, however, on acquiring the property. For years, the PFD, which already owns part of the block, has been trying to buy the rest of the land from the other owners there, including Seattle-based Diamond Parking and Spokane architect Glen Cloninger, who owned more than half of the block, partly with partners. The PFD recently bought Cloninger's property for $7 million.

Though the district hasn't reached a settlement with Diamond Parking, Twohig says Spokane County Superior Court Judge Robert Austin last week denied Diamond's motion to dismiss the condemnation suit brought against it in January by the city of Spokane on behalf of the district. Diamond Parking manages numerous parking lots here and in other U.S. cities.