A nonprofit corporation called Cougar Property Holdings, which the Washington State University Foundation formed earlier this year, quietly is buying up property near the Riverpoint Higher Education Park for future expansion of that campus.


The group has bought the big, 91-year-old Jensen-Byrd Co. warehouse building south of the Riverpoint campus and a 3 1/2-acre vacant parcel north of the campus, says Greg Sheridan, the Pullman-based director of Cougar Property Holdings and the foundations senior vice president. It also has agreed to buy another building and is negotiating to buy a third structure. Both of those buildings also are south of the Riverpoint campus.


Thus far, Cougar Property Holdings total investment in Riverpoint-area property amounts to just over $4 million, Sheridan says.


For Spokane, this is a huge positive step because of the commitment it represents to the growth of the Riverpoint campus, Sheridan says.


The campus is situated on 48 acres of land east of downtown on the south bank of the Spokane River. Cougar Property Holdings plans on maintaining the adjacent properties it owns until WSU needs them, Sheridan says.


The Jensen-Byrd structure includes six stories with a total of 178,000 square feet of floor space. Jensen-Byrd, a Spokane-based hardware wholesaler, had owned the building for many years and has been using it as a distribution center. It now is leasing the building from Cougar Property Holdings and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, says Tom Quigley, vice president at Kiemle & Hagood Co., of Spokane, who represented Cougar Property Holdings in its Riverpoint-area acquisitions.


Cougar Property Holdings bought the 3 1/2-acre parcel from Inland Northwest Corp., of Spokane. Its located along the south bank of the Spokane River between the Riverpoint One office building and the Riverpoint Village condominium complex.


The building that Cougar Property Holdings has agreed to buy but hasnt closed on yet is a two-level, 9,900-square-foot structure at 218 E. Trent thats owned by BPS Supply Inc., a plumbing-supply wholesaler here. That transaction is expected to be completed in early October. BPS Supply will lease the facility back from Cougar Property Holdings, as Jensen-Byrd has done with its warehouse building, Quigley says.


Sheridan declines to identify the other building that Cougar Property Holdings is negotiating to buy, but says its near the buildings it already has bought. Cougar Property Holdings doesnt have any immediate plans to buy more property near the Riverpoint campus, but will consider buying other property there as opportunities arise.


When the time comes for expanding the campus, which could be many years down the road, Cougar Property Holdings plans to sell the properties it owns to the university for their currentyear 2000market value, he says.


Quigley, who also is a member of the WSU Foundation board of directors, says, Our goal is to fill the educational holdings to ensure the future educational opportunities for that campus. It makes a very solid statement about the future of WSU in Spokane.