Plan moves forward for downtown building

The Moscow Urban Renewal Agency (MURA) voted Thursday to move forward with a proposal for developing a mixed-use building on the Sixth and Jackson street property in downtown Moscow.

The agency agreed to enter into an exclusive negotiation agreement with local business owners George Skandalos and Carly Lilly, who submitted their proposal in May. It was the lone proposal on the table after another developer, Aaron Rench, withdrew his proposal for a mixed-use building on Wednesday.

The proposal from Lilly and Skandalos is a 52,885-square-foot building that will be anchored by their relocating restaurant, Sangria Grille. It will include spaces for retail, offices and 51 residential apartments.

Their goal is to dedicate 20% of the apartments as affordable housing. Skandalos said during Thursday’s MURA meeting they are determining this rent cost based on 80% of the area median income. He added that the apartments will all be rentals and not condominiums.

Skandalos said he appreciates that Moscow is not divided in a way where rich and poor residents live in separate areas of the city. He said nice downtown buildings should not be reserved for just wealthy residents.

“I think that it’s really important that we try to keep that going,” he said.

Lilly said the building will also offer small offices, which will address an underserved need in Moscow.

Like Sixth and Jackson street proposals from the past, this one will make room for an extension of University of Idaho’s Hello Walk. It has been a longtime goal of MURA to extend that walking path from the UI Administration Building to downtown Moscow.

The design calls for an outdoor terrace above the restaurant and a possible rooftop garden. Their proposal has 24 on-site parking spaces, as well as spaces for bicycles. This is subject to change as the city would require at least 31 parking spaces for this type of building.

Lilly and Skandalos are partnering with Seattle architecture firm Atelier Jones and Spokane-based Baker Construction and Development on the project.

“Our concept includes a design that will invite people into the building and through the property,” their proposal states. “It will have an urban feel infused with nature (planters, gardens, and living wall screens). Natural light will stream into the building.”

Cody Riddle, Moscow deputy city supervisor, said the final design will need to be approved by the city of Moscow before the project can go forward. The proposal anticipates construction will begin in spring 2024 and end in summer 2025.

There was a debate among MURA board members about when to move forward with the proposal. Another meeting to discuss the Sixth and Jackson property was planned for July 20, but that was under the assumption there would be two proposals to choose from.

Members of the MURA board felt comfortable moving forward with the Lilly and Skandalos proposal Thursday instead of waiting for July 20, since it is the lone proposal and it met Urban Renewal’s requirements.

Board member Mark Beauchamp said he was afraid members of the public would question Urban Renewal’s due diligence and transparency if it went ahead with the Lilly and Skandalos proposal Thursday.

Board member Tom Lamar countered by saying the selection process has been transparent up to this point, with MURA already getting public feedback, and Urban Renewal making its vote during a public meeting.

Beauchamp abstained from Thursday’s vote.

There have been multiple attempts in recent years to construct a mixed-use building on this land, which is owned by MURA.

MURA requested new proposals for the property known as Legacy Crossing earlier this year after it ended negotiations with developer Rusty Olps, who tried unsuccessfully to establish a mixed-use building there.

Lilly and Skandalos, who own multiple Moscow restaurants and the Moscow Hotel building, were selected by MURA to develop the Sixth and Jackson corner in 2015. However, that project came in 50% over budget after they’d worked with a local contractor, Lilly said.

Lilly and Skandalos expressed confidence that their partnership with Baker Construction and Development will allow them to complete the project.

Their proposal was included in Thursday’s meeting materials, which can be found at moscowura.com.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.