Spokane Mayor David Condon has appointed commercial real estate broker Charlie Wolff to be the city’s business development manager.

The position has been created as part of a strategic plan by the city to encourage new investment and job growth, says Brian Coddington, a spokesman for the mayor.

A goal of the strategic plan is to ensure the city has ready locations for business looking to locate and expand their workforce in Spokane, Coddington says.

The annual salary for the position is $84,300.

Wolff says the emphasis of his job will be to spur growth within designated public development authorities.

The PDAs include the 500-plus-acre industrial area named The Yard, in Hillyard, the 770-acre University District east of downtown, and the recently created joint city-county West Plains PDA, which includes Spokane International Airport and nearby underdeveloped land.

In a joint announcement last month, the city, county, and airport described the West Plains PDA as the first multijurisdictional partnership in which the city and county will share tax revenue to encourage development. The PDA is targeting growth in manufacturing and aerospace sectors.

The University District PDA is targeting medical technology, biotech, and health care interests, and the Yard PDA is set up to encourage growth in the manufacturing and distribution sectors.

Wolff had been a broker at Spokane commercial real estate brokerage SDS Realty Inc. for about three years, after moving here from Portland. He says he’s been a licensed broker in Oregon since 2002.

Wolff says his real estate experience has prepared him for the role.

“Commercial real estate brokers bring parties together to try to match their goals and expectations,” he says.

Coddington says the business development manager position will replace a city policy advisor position formerly held by Tyler Whitney.

That post had been vacant since Whitney, an attorney, returned to private practice at Spokane-based Winston & Cashatt Lawyers PS law office last October.