Thank you for your question!

As far as I know, prior to its residential development, Kendall Yards was half-cleaned, overgrown abandoned industrial land. It was an odd case of land use limbo that nobody was interested in taking responsibility for and investing in for some time.

Kendall Yards does have a history as a rail yard. Please see this link for a comprehensive history since the early 1900s:

http://www.spokesman.com/guides/olmsted-brothers-and-power-public-spaces/stop-52/

Due to the way Spokane developed over the past hundred years or so, I wouldn’t say it’d be a stretch to imagine the area utilized for self-sustenance gardening, which would be a sizable garden that only serves its owners’ needs without the aspirations of selling the crop. However, because of the condition of the soil underneath the area, combined with its relatively low place in the valley, I highly doubt it would be viable for commercial agriculture use.

Here’s a link to the manuscript of the 1921 Spokane County soil survey I used to come to that conclusion, if you’re interested:

http://soils.usda.gov/survey/online_surveys/washington/spokaneWA1921/spokaneWA1921.pdf

Thank you again, and have a great new year!

Best wishes,
Aascot Holt

A very good synopsis of this project that has moved along in fits and starts since its inception.