COEUR d'ALENE - Land for the first phase of a permanent public transit center in Riverstone is expected to be acquired by September and construction is pegged to start next year, a county official said.

"There's renewed enthusiasm in the project," said Christine Fueston, the county's Federal Transit Administration grant administrator.

Kootenai County commissioners today are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with The Coeur d'Alene Tribe to cooperatively work on the project.

The site for the permanent center will be where the existing temporary center is at the southwest corner of Seltice Way and Riverstone Drive in Riverstone.

The permanent facility has been several years in the making - a conceptual plan was designed in 2009 - but has been slow to develop with a lack of funding.

However, the Tribe recently decided to not apply $1.15 million in federal stimulus funds toward a transit center in Plummer. That money will now be applied toward the Riverstone site instead.

"The (Riverstone) transit center has had a slow start, but the infusion of the money from the Tribe has gone a long way toward pushing this forward," Fueston said.

The Tribe has provided most of the money to Citylink, a free public transit system that had 32,590 rides in June.

The transit center will be built in three phases. The first will include a park-and-ride area with 160 parking spots; the second will be a transit island for buses to pull up to; the third a 6,300-square-foot building with bathrooms, a passenger seating area, a substation for law enforcement and meeting rooms.

"We haven't started the design of the building," Feuston said, adding that the structure was part of the conceptual plan.

The second and third phases of the transit center will be constructed as funding becomes available.

A total of $1.7 million has been secured for the transit center. The entire project, including land and improvments, is estimated to cost $4.6 million. However, Fueston said the cost may be lower if plans are modified.

"I'll continue to throw out a net for other funds," Feuston said.

Feuston declined to say what the estimated cost for the land for the first phase will be because an appraisal from the Federal Transit Administration isn't supposed to be complete for about two weeks.

The Tribe will own the land and the county will have the improvements completed, Fueston said.

While other sites for the transit center were discussed, Fueston said Riverstone was settled on because of its central location. It is also next to a signalized intersection, has access to Interstate 90 and the Centennial and Prairie bike trails, and the development is a live-work area.

Fueston said she hopes the entire project will be completed within three years.