Roger Flint
Chief Operating Officer
Parametrix

Steady as she goes is the watchword for construction in Spokane, Wash. While eastern Washington hasn’t enjoyed the tremendous growth of the Puget Sound region in recent years, it’s also avoided the headaches that can accompany such rapid development.

“Spokane is always a place where we continue to see some level of steady growth,” Flint says. “We typically don’t get the big spikes or the big valleys that you’ll see in some regions.”

Total construction starts, according to Dodge Data & Analytics, are expected to reach nearly $1.8 billion in 2025, a 25% increase from the year prior. The upswing follows a modest step back in 2023 in both residential and non-residential building activity. Non-building starts such as transportation and public works have held roughly steady in the same period after a strong increase in 2023.

Educational building starts are expected to top $276 million in 2025, a whopping 288% surge since 2023.

Manufacturing buildings, electric utilities and single-family residential starts also are on track for upward trajectories this year.

The trends match the annual growth rate of about 1% Spokane has seen over the past several years. That rate may be about half of what Seattle has enjoyed over the same period, but it is still comfortably above national numbers.

So while the region is grappling with a housing shortage, it’s not nearly as severe as in other places.

The steady growth ensures that companies have opportunities while meeting the requirements of their existing backlog of work.

“The mantra here is, let’s finish what we started,” Flint says. “We’re pushing as a region to make sure that funding stays secured and making sure that none of those dollars get supplanted or shifted to other priorities.”

The next phase of the Seattle International Airport’s TREX Expansion Program is a central hall and a consolidated baggage claim.
Rendering courtesy Spokane International Airport

That effort is being handled by a number of groups such as the Spokane Chamber of Commerce, Greater Spokane Inc. and the Spokane Area Good Roads Association, of which Flint is a member and past president.

One understated strength of Spokane is the mix of businesses that are represented.

“There’s a good, diverse mix of different kinds of businesses, large and small,” he says. “The area doesn’t depend on a single big company for its economic success.”

However, there are uncertainties to contend with. At the state level, the Legislature continues to debate the impacts of a projected $12-billion budget deficit. The result has been a bidding pause on the part of the Washington State Dept. of Transportation (WSDOT).

The impact of such belt-tightening has been partially mitigated by an existing backlog of work. A key example of that, he points out, is the North Spokane Corridor, which Parametrix is working on. This long-awaited megaproject is intended to improve freight and commuter transportation through the growing metropolitan area.

The northern portion of the effort wrapped up in 2023. Funding for the final portion of the project—a connection to Interstate 90—was finalized in 2024, with work slated to launch this year. The progress will help the development of Spokane’s southern side, which is starting to see significant growth.

Other infrastructure improvements include a bus rapid transit system being developed by Spokane Transit in conjunction with the North Spokane Corridor effort.

There is also the ongoing investment in the region’s airports, notably Spokane International Airport’s Terminal Renovation and Expansion Program (TREX).

The state funding woes are also compounded by the pronouncements of the new Trump administration regarding both pending and previously approved funding. Moreover, the region is not immune to wider industry concerns regarding access to skilled labor and growing materials costs.

“I think the biggest challenges remain staying focused on the bigger priorities and making sure that we keep a coalition together that keeps beating that drum and making sure that the region is not forgotten,” he says.