The city of Spokane Valley has awarded a $10.6 million construction contract for its planned City Hall to Meridian Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley.

Meridian had submitted the lowest bid to erect the 65,200-square-foot facility, which will include three stories and a full basement, says Carolbelle Branch, a spokeswoman for the city.

The full project is budgeted to cost $14.1 million, which includes construction, design, land acquisition, furnishings, taxes, and services, Branch says.

Construction is expected to begin next month, she says.

The construction schedule still is being worked out, she says. The city had earlier estimated the project would take 15 months to complete.

Architects West Inc., of Coeur d’Alene, designed the project.

The project site is on a portion of the former University City mall property at the southeast corner of Sprague Avenue and Dartmouth Road, where the city bought 3.4 acres of land in 2014 for $1.3 million.

The project will be funded with $6.3 million in cash allocated for the project, and the city will finance the remaining $7.8 million through general obligation bonds to be repaid over a 30-year period, Branch says.

The bonds are scheduled to be priced today, May 19, at which time the city will be able to determine annual payments, she says.

Payments, though, are expected to be priced similarly to the $434,600 in annual costs Spokane Valley currently incurs for the 30,000 square feet of space it leases in the Redwood Plaza, at 11701 E. Sprague, about a mile east of the U-City site.

Spokane Valley has 85 employees based at the Redwood Plaza.

The project will include larger council chambers with seating for 198 visitors on the main floor. 

Central reception, permitting, community and economic development, and human resources departments also will be on the main floor, Branch says.

Spokane Valley’s public works department will occupy most of the second floor, and the city’s administration, finance, and legal departments will be on the third floor, she says.

The administration space will include a dedicated office for the mayor and a shared office with individual work stations for council members.

The basement level will include storage space, and electrical and mechanical equipment and controls, Branch says.

The Spokane Valley City Council awarded the contract on May 3, and in a separate motion authorized up to $100,000 for removal of existing power poles and placement of underground powerlines on the site, Branch says.

A total of eight contractors submitted bids for the City Hall project, including Spokane-area contractors Leone & Keeble Inc., T.W. Clark Construction LLC, and Walker Construction Inc.