Bellevue, Wash.-based Nelson Realty Advisors is developing a new $2.5 million, 18,800-square-foot office building on Spokane’s North Side for the Washington state Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

The structure will house the department’s third office in the Spokane area, says Jeff Kincaid, Spokane-based regional administrator for the department’s Region 1, which covers 13 northeastern Washington counties.

The single-story office building is being built on 1.5 acres of undeveloped land at 6830 N. Nevada.

About 100 of the department’s 300 Spokane-area employees will be relocated to the new building, Kincaid says. 

It currently has offices at 4202 S. Regal, on the South Hill, and at 8517 E. Trent, in Spokane Valley. The Valley office opened in January.

Of the Regal office, Kincaid says, “Historically, we’ve been in this building for about 20 years.”

He says the department’s Spokane-based staff has grown substantially. “We’re busting at the seams here.” 

Once construction of the new facility is complete, the Regal office will downsize and may consider moving into a smaller space, Kincaid says.

“Probably five or six years ago, the plan came about to better serve Spokane by having our field offices located closer to our clientele,” Kincaid says. “So that’s why we decided to break out into a Valley office, a central office, and a north office.”

The project is being funded through the Washington state Office of Financial Management as part of the state’s capital budget, says Amy Rogers, regional operations manager.

Tim Nelson, owner of Nelson Realty, says the building will have space for offices, meeting rooms, and work stations.

Kincaid says the offices were designed with input from department employees, and the new space will offer an open work environment, large windows for natural lighting, communal space for staff, and more access to supervisors.

Site work has already begun, Nelson says, with the concrete slab foundation expected to be poured this month. Construction is expected to be completed this summer, and the department plans to occupy the building by Aug. 8.

The property was purchased in January by Inland Empire LLC, which is owned by Tim Nelson, for roughly $584,000, according to documents filed with the Spokane County Assessor’s Office.

The Washington state Department of Children, Youth, and Families offers state-funded services that support children and families.