Hawkins bumps request for county fund support

Now seeking $15 million:

Construction could begin at Hawkins Companies’ long-proposed stateline strip mall next spring, if Whitman County will pick up another $5.9 million of the cost.

In May 2008, commissioners agreed to fund $9.1 million worth of public infrastructure for Hawkins’ 714,000-square-foot shopping center site. Jeff DeVoe, project lead for the Boise development firm, asked commissioners Monday to up that amount to $15 million.

Before the commercial real estate collapse which spun out of the 2008 recession, Hawkins was ready to build. DeVoe said the company was within two weeks of...