Latinos en Spokane, a nonprofit serving the Latino community, is in the early stages of planning the development of a $10 million cultural center and affordable housing project with nearly 50 living units.  

Executive director Jennyfer Mesa says the building would create flexible space for the organization’s growing programs. 

The envisioned project is slated to be built on just over three-fourths of an acre on the southeast corner of east Sinto Avenue and north Regal Street, next to Chief Garry Park in Spokane’s East Central neighborhood. 

“It’s a fantastic location,” says Mesa, citing its proximity to Spokane Community College, a Community Health Association of Spokane clinic, Family Promise, and the park, among other services and amenities.  

Construction is tentatively expected to start in summer 2026 and be completed in 2028 or 2029, she adds. To fund the project, Latinos en Spokane is launching a capital campaign to seek donations from the local community and pursuing grants. 

Spokane-based ZBA Architecture PS is designing the project. A contractor hasn't been selected yet. 

As envisioned, the building will become Latinos en Spokane’s new headquarters, accommodating the organization's expanding programs and services, including space for cultural events and a Latino farmers market known as El Mercadito, Mesa says. 

According to a feasibility study, the 82,000-square-foot project will be broken into two phases. The first phase will involve the development of Latino en Spokane’s offices and headquarters, with eight living units above that. The second phase will create 40 units of housing and the build-out for a full-service community health care clinic. Total square feet dedicated to affordable housing is about 48,000 square feet, while the community space, offices, and full-service clinic make up the remaining 34,000 square feet. 

Latinos en Spokane has a long-standing partnership with CHAS, Mesa says. In addition to partnering on this project to build a full-service clinic, several low-income housing units will also be set aside to provide respite care for people in between hospital stays. The number of housing units set aside for respite care hasn’t yet been determined. 

“Respite care is a huge need in the community,” Mesa says. 

Addressing health access is essential to Latinos en Spokane’s vision, Mesa says. The Latino population is growing in this region, and assuming current trends continue, Latinos will represent 25% of the Spokane County population within 10 years. The immigrant community faces extensive challenges when trying to access basic health care, she says. 

“This is a large endeavor during a difficult (political) time,” Mesa says. 

Latinos en Spokane began as a grassroots movement in 2017 to provide information to immigrants in the community. In 2020, the organization opened its center in a 6,000-square-foot space at the St. Cloud Building, at 1502 N. Monroe in north Spokane. Since then, the organization has expanded into additional suites within that building, Mesa says. 

Latinos en Spokane has 14 employees and several programs, such as civil and immigration legal support for low-income Latino individuals and families, social services that provide technical assistance to support families navigating state and local systems, and a small business development center, among other services and programs. Latinos en Spokane’s 2024 budget was $1.5 million, up from $800,000 in 2023.