The city of Spokane parks department is moving to the next phase of planning and development of renovations at Riverfront Park heading into next year.

Meanwhile, Riverfront Park projects that started in 2017 are expected to wrap up during the first half of next year, says Fianna Dickson, communications manager for the city’s parks department.

Spokane-based Walker Construction Inc. expects to finish the $10.2 million Looff Carrousel in late April to early May, Dickson says.

The $7.2 million Howard Street Bridge South Channel construction project, being built by Athol-based T. LaRievere Equipment & Excavation Inc., is scheduled to be completed in the same time frame as the Looff Carrousel.

The new bridge has four pilings that were constructed at the bottom of the Spokane River, which support three spans across the river, Dickson says.

Regarding the next phase of park improvements, the city of Spokane’s Parks Board had scheduled a special meeting last week with members of the design-build team charged with the task of developing conceptual designs regarding the future of the park’s pavilion. The design-build team consists of Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane; Spokane-based NAC Architecture; and Seattle-based Berger Partnership.

Berger Partnership has relied on the advice of dozens of Spokane firms, including the Spokane office of CH2M engineering firm, and Land Expressions LLC, a landscape architecture firm based in Mead.

“The design-build team has about 30 percent of its design concepts in place and will now be moving forward to getting those concepts to full completion during quarter one and quarter two next year,” Dickson says.

Dickson says construction crews also will begin “selective demolition” early next year of smaller structures that won’t be retained in and around the pavilion.

Construction crews also will begin demolishing the IMAX theater building during the first quarter of next year. The working budget designated for the pavilion area totals $19.7 million.

In November 2014, Spokane voters approved a $64.3 million bond measure to provide funding for an overhaul of the aging park.

City and park officials announced in October a Dec. 8 ribbon-cutting date for the unveiling of a new $10 million ice ribbon with an accompanying skating rink at the southwest corner of the park.

Beyond Riverfront Park, another project that the parks department has targeted for early next year involves rehabilitating the Don Kardong Bridge that spans the Spokane River between the Riverpoint Campus and Gonzaga University near the Gonzaga University School of Law.

The parks department on Nov. 9 hired KPFF Consulting Engineers, of Seattle, to create a set of plans and specifications and establish a cost estimate for upgrades to the pedestrian bridge. 

Project funding for the design, up to $75,000, is being provided by the Friends of the Centennial Trail, Dickson says.