Real estate affordability has been a top concern in Spokane and Kootenai counties this year for both the commercial and residential markets, and high costs are expected to persist in the new year.

A burst of construction activity in the beginning of the year has given way to a development slowdown that's projected to stabilize at a slower rate in 2025.

Clearwater Paper Corp. is planning a $4 million tenant improvement project at the company's headquarters in the Bank of America business center at 601 W. Riverside, in downtown Spokane.

Kimco Realty Corp. is planning the interior renovation of a 22,800-square-foot vacant retail space, at 5630 N. Division, in the Franklin Park Commons shopping center on Spokane's North Side.

Spokane area apartment vacancy rates are returning to normal this year as multifamily construction projects wrap up and add new units to the housing supply, however affordability concerns are still straining the market, some market observers here say. 

Despite a wave of return-to-office directives issued by U.S. employers this year, workforce flexibility remains a leading strategy for many Spokane-area companies as they settle into a new normal in the office.

Demand for addiction treatment and recovery services has reached a critical level at Spokane Falls Recovery Center, prompting a major expansion project at the company's campus in North Spokane.

A long-vacant commercial space adjoining the 11-story Ridpath Club Apartments is being overhauled to fill a void left by another retail establishment that closed in the downtown core in the past year.

A 1-acre property on Spokane's South Hill is under consideration for the development of two proposed projects that would lead to the construction of either an office building or a multifamily housing complex.