A Spokane company called Mirabeau Point LLC plans to develop as many as four large office and commercial buildings on an 11.5-acre site at the Mirabeau Point corporate and community development in Spokane Valley, with work on the first one slated to begin next month.


The estimated cost of the overall project wasnt disclosed, but Wayne Frost, Mirabeau Point LLCs general manager, says the companys goal is to develop up to 200,000 square feet of business space there.


The rectangular-shaped development site is at the southwest corner of Mirabeau Parkway and Mansfield Avenue, near the southern entrance to the corporate park off of Indiana Avenue.


Humanix Corp., a Spokane-based company that employs about 650 temporary workers in the Spokane-Coeur dAlene area, has agreed to lease 8,000 square feet of space in the first building that Mirabeau Point LLC will develop there. Frost says that building will be a 46,000-square-foot, three-story structure with a two-story atrium lobby and third-floor exterior balconies, and will be constructed at 13224 E. Mansfield.


No other tenants have been confirmed yet, but Frost says the development will have upscale tenant finishes and will be well-suited for other corporate uses and medical office space. The first building also will include space for a restaurant.


ALSC Architects PS, of Spokane, designed the building, and Divcon Inc., of Spokane, will build it, Frost says. Its slated to be completed in March 2006.


The controlling owner of Mirabeau Point LLC is Centennial Properties Inc. Centennial Properties is a subsidiary of Inland Empire Paper Co., which is owned by Cowles Publishing Co., which also owns the Journal of Business.


The land for the project is owned by Centennial Properties.


The rest of the project still is in the conceptual stage, and the additional office and commercial space envisioned there could come in up to three other buildings, says Frost. The remaining square footage will be developed as the market dictates, and probably within the next six years, he says.


Humanix, which does some job training and hires temporary workers for other businesses, will move its headquarters from 7307 N. Division to the second floor of the new building when it opens.


We want to be closer to our customer base, and obviously most of our customer base is not in North Spokane, says Julie Prafke, founder and president of the 19-year-old company.


Humanix has 30 full-time employees based at its headquarters.


Humanix will close its operation on North Division, but keep open a Coeur dAlene branch it also operates.


Development in the area of Spokane Valley between Pines and Sullivan roads north of Interstate 90, where Mirabeau Point is located, is moving at a rapid pace. Projects currently under way there include buildings for the Washington state Department of Wildlife, InCyte Pathology Inc., and Spokane Valley Community Performing Arts Center, says Shane Miller, Divcon vice president.


Just to the north of Mirabeau Point is Pinecroft Business Park where a 120,000-square-foot corporate headquarters for Itronix Corp., of Spokane is underway.