A Gonzaga University-led consortium of about 50 organizations has applied to bring a federally funded aerospace manufacturing tech hub to the Inland Northwest.

If such a manufacturing hub became a reality, it would be located at the former Triumph Composite Systems Inc. building, in west Spokane, at 1415 S. Flint. The 386,000-square-foot facility, which has room for expansion on over 50 acres of land and is located near the Spokane International Airport, is owned by Spokane-based real estate investment company Lakeside Cos., which is also a member of the consortium.

“There is no better location for this tech hub than right here in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area,” says John Hemmingson, CEO of Lakeside Cos. “We are at the center of the Interstate 90 aerospace corridor, and we have so many great resources including a concentration of existing composites suppliers and leading research universities.”

The consortium has filed an application to create the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program, which was enacted as part of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh says in a release, “Consortium members are aligned on the need to enhance American competitiveness and capabilities in composite materials, the market opportunity in the aerospace industry and potential other industries, and the capabilities of the center’s partners and the regional capabilities of the Inland Northwest to meet this need.”

The first phase of the EDA’s tech hub program calls for the designation of more than 20 regions as hubs, awarding about $15 million, or some $500,000-plus per grant, according to the GU release. Through a benefactor, Gonzaga has pledged matching funds if the application is successful.

If selected to receive phase-one funds this fall, the manufacturing center would then compete to be one of the five to 10 consortia to be awarded between $50 million and $75 million in the next phase.

“We feel like we have a really good application, because we do have a lot of the aerospace industry backing it,” says Maria Lusardi, marketing director at Lakeside Cos.

Lusardi adds that several Spokane-area composites companies are involved in projects with NASA.

“NASA’s in the press talking about thermoplastic composites and how important this capability is,” she says.

Other consortium members include The Boeing Co.; Avista Corp.; Spokane International Airport; the cities of Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Post Falls; Eastern Washington University; Washington State University; Spokane Workforce Council; Washington state Department of Commerce; Idaho state Department of Commerce; the Kalispel Tribe of Indians; the Spokane Tribe of Indians; and several Inland Northwest chambers of commerce.