Lease Bit Of Valley History

The 85-year-old Opportunity Township Hall is filled with history.

What it needs now is activity.

The hall’s owner, the Spokane County Parks and Recreation Department, is seeking a tenant for the 2,500-square foot building at 12114 E. Sprague, which was home to the Valley’s first public library. The region’s farmers and orchardists also used it for dances, weddings and other community events.

Because the old stucco building near the corner of Pines and Sprague is listed on the Spokane Register of Historic Places, the county must give the public a chance to comment on plans to lease the building. A hearing will be held next month, county parks director Wyn Birkenthal said. An exact date has not been set.

If the public is supportive, the Parks Department will probably start accepting sealed bids sometime in December.

Interested groups can call the Parks Department for additional information, or to arrange a site visit.

Rental market value of the building, which is just west of Pines Road on Sprague Avenue, is between $1,000 and $1,300 per month, according to several commercial real estate companies. It has a meeting room, small kitchen and restrooms.

The Parks Department installed a new hot tar roof last month, but doesn’t plan additional improvements to the building, mainly for financial reasons, Birkenthal said.

Because it is a historic building, the tenant would not be allowed to make any structural or non-reversible changes to it.

A few groups have already expressed interest in leasing the building. Among them is Spokane Valley Fire District’s union, Local 876.

“We like the Opportunity Township Hall because it has some history,” said firefighter Harold Kellams, who first approached Parks Department officials about the hall last summer.

Kellams views the 1912 building as a perfect home for the union, and a perfect backdrop for the organization’s collection of historic firefighting photos.

But Local 876 probably can’t afford $1,000 to $1,300 in monthly rent. The group was hoping the Parks Department would consider the community service work it does and give it a sharp discount about one-fourth the market value, Kellams said.

Parks Department officials decided to open the bidding to everyone, to see if they could get a better rate for the building.

Still, Birkenthal said he’d prefer to see a community service group in the old building.

“I’d rather see the Boy Scouts of America have a satellite office there than someone storing their wholesale properties,” he said.

Rent from the hall will benefit the Parks Department.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo