The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Commercial office space" means a high quality building or buildings in the local market, as determined by a city's governing authority. High quality must be reflected in the finishes, construction, and infrastructure of the project building. The building or buildings must be at least fifty thousand square feet, and at least three stories. The building must be centrally located in a city, provide close access to available public transportation and freeways, be managed professionally, and offer amenities and advanced technology options to tenants.

(2) "Commercial office space development area" means an area that has been designated by the city legislative authority as a commercial office space development area. Each area is limited to contiguous tracts, lots, pieces, or parcels of land without the creation of islands of property not included in the commercial office space development area. The commercial office space development area or areas within a city cannot contain more than twenty-five percent of the total assessed value of the taxable real property within the boundaries of the city at the time the area is established.

(3) "County" means a county with a population of less than one million five hundred thousand.

(4) "Family living wage job" means a job with a wage that is sufficient for raising a family. A family living wage job must have an average wage of eighteen dollars an hour or more, working two thousand eighty hours per year, as adjusted annually by the consumer price index. The family living wage may be increased by the local authority based on regional factors and wage conditions.

(5) "Operationally complete" means that a certificate of occupancy has been issued for the building.

(6) "Public improvement" means infrastructure improvements to be owned by a public entity within the commercial office space development area that include:

(a) Street, road, bridge, and rail construction and maintenance;

(b) Water and sewer system construction and improvements;

(c) Sidewalks, streetlights, landscaping, and streetscaping;

(d) Parking, terminal, and dock facilities;

(e) Park and ride facilities of a transit authority;

(f) Park facilities, recreational areas, and environmental remediation;

(g) Stormwater and drainage management systems;

(h) Seismic improvements to buildings eligible for or eligible for listing in the Washington state register of historic places (RCW 27.34.220) or the national register of historic places as defined in the national historic preservation act of 1966 (Title 1, Sec. 101, P.L. 89-665; 80 Stat. 915; 16 U.S.C. Sec. 470) as now or hereafter amended;

(i) Electric, gas, fiber, and other utility infrastructures; and

(j) Expenditures for any of the following purposes:

(i) Providing environmental analysis, professional management, planning, and promotion within the commercial office space development area; and

(ii) Providing maintenance and security for common or public areas in the commercial office space development area.

(7) "Public improvement costs" means the costs of:

(a) Design; planning; acquisition, including land acquisition; site preparation, including land clearing; construction; reconstruction; rehabilitation; improvements; and installation of public improvements;

(b) Demolishing, relocating, maintaining, and operating property pending construction of public improvements;

(c) Relocating utilities as a result of public improvements;

(d) Financing public improvements, including interest during construction; legal, and other professional services; taxes; insurance; principal and interest costs on general indebtedness issued to finance public improvements; and any necessary reserves for general indebtedness; and

(e) Administrative expenses and feasibility studies reasonably necessary and related to these costs, including related costs that may have been incurred before adoption of the ordinance authorizing the public improvements and use of funds deposited into the commercial office development public improvement fund.

(8) "Qualifying project" means new construction or rehabilitation of a building or group of buildings intended for use as commercial office space. A "qualifying project" may include mixed-use buildings, not solely intended to be used as office space, but does not include any portion of a project intended for residential use or noncommercial use. A "qualifying project" may include new construction, or rehabilitation of an existing building, which included an area intended to be used for child care facilities at or near the commercial office space. "Qualifying project" does not include the land associated with the new construction or rehabilitation.

(9) "Rehabilitation" and "rehabilitation improvements" means modifications to an existing building or buildings made to achieve substantial improvements such that the building or buildings can be categorized as commercial office space.

(10) "Rehabilitation improvements" means modifications to an existing building or buildings made to achieve substantial improvements such that the building or buildings can be categorized as commercial office space.

(11) "Urban center" means a compact identifiable district where urban residents may obtain a variety of products and services. An urban center must contain:

(a) Several existing or previous, or both, business establishments that may include but are not limited to shops, offices, banks, restaurants, and governmental agencies;

(b) Adequate public facilities including streets, sidewalks, lighting, transit, domestic water, and sanitary sewer systems; and

(c) A mixture of uses and activities that may include housing, recreation, and cultural activities in association with either commercial or office use, or both commercial and office use.