Spokane’s Growing Market is Right for Swinerton, Ripe with Life Sciences Opportunity
Spokane is an unassuming city, but a booming one at the same time.
Spokane and the surrounding Eastern Washington region has grown by tens of thousands of people in the last few years, and more are expected—the city projects another 20,000 residents over the next two decades.
On top of that, Spokane was recently named the third-fastest growing market for construction jobs, which made it a great place for Swinerton to expand its company footprint. Swinerton boasts deep roots in the state of Washington, with a team in Seattle for over 20 years as well as a strong local team in Spokane already with experience in a variety of markets but made the expansion official just a few months ago.
Led by market leader Jeremiah Shakespeare, the arrow is pointing up for Spokane and its citizens, and for people all over the region.
“Spokane is the largest city between Seattle and Minneapolis, and regionally, a large number of people count on the city for what they need,” Shakespeare said. “For example, the city is a large provider of healthcare to people coming from hours away. If people spread all over the inland Northwest need something big, they count on Spokane. That’s why we’re really excited to be expanding here in this region.”
The construction market in Spokane is busy with a variety of work, including public infrastructure and road projects, fulfillment centers, and education projects, but Shakespeare pointed out that the life sciences market is also one to watch in the region.
According to Greater Spokane’s Economic Development publication, nine local hospitals employ 43,000 people; accounting for over 20% of Spokane’s employment base, and the billion-dollar healthcare industry in the region is projected to grow to $2.5 billion within ten years. Additionally, the city is the largest healthcare, health sciences and medical education hub from Seattle to Minneapolis, providing services to approximately 1.2 million people. With a growing population, a low cost of doing business, an educated workforce thanks to multiple universities nearby, the environment is ideal for research and development in the life sciences industry.
“Initially, I don’t know that I expected Swinerton to enter this market so quickly, but due to our great experience in the science and technology markets all the way from San Diego to Denver to Seattle, we felt like there’s a tremendous opportunity for us,” Shakespeare said. “Thanks to our approach to work as One Swinerton—one company united from coast to coast—we can really count on our market leaders across the company to help us grow into this exciting market too.”
Statistics also show that 58 life sciences companies are located in the greater Spokane Area, pointing to the robust infrastructure and employee base that already exists in the region.
“We’re really making strides in that market and expanding our resume in science and technology projects nationwide, and to have this market right here as we’re putting down roots in Spokane is terrific,” Shakespeare said. “That’s the opportunity, to flex our ‘One Swinerton’ muscle to help this market grow right here.”
