SPOKANE, Wash. — A Spokane neighborhood once divided by highway construction is at the center of a new city project that hopes to help revitalize the area.
The project is taking place on Fifth Avenue in East Central Spokane near Liberty Park, a vibrant and colorful part of the city known as the historic heart of Spokane’s Black community.
This spring, the City of Spokane began work on the Fifth Avenue Community Plan. The project focuses on community-led goals and policies that will shape the neighborhood’s future.
“We’re trying to meet the community where they are at now and trying to help envision what’s next in a real positive way,” said Maren Murphy, a city planner.
The area was once much larger before Interstate 90 was built, which split north-south roads and displaced homes and businesses.
“It affected a lot of people,” said Dean Hill, who works at New Development Nations, a mental health service on Fifth Avenue that offers a blend of therapy with music.
Hill is happy to see steps are being taken to improve life in this neighborhood.
“I would like to see something positive for the community,” Hill said.
Jillisa Winkler, executive director of the Carl Maxey Center who was born and raised in the area, says the project is long overdue.
“I think people are just ready to see some change. So I think investment in things like sidewalks and, smaller infrastructure, some of it has started. But I think really being able to have a more walkable, usable area where every thing’s sort of in your neighborhood’s reach,” Winkler said.
For Winkler and Hill, it’s the diversity and cultural richness of Fifth Avenue that make it special — qualities they hope this plan will help preserve.
“Telling that story, sharing that legacy and planning for the future is a real critical part of what we’re trying,” Hill said.
The city is drafting a plan for the project that it plans to release this winter. Community outreach will continue before the final version is released in 2026.
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