Still no deal for Rookery, Mohawk

A Spokane demolition company owner said he has been hired to tear down the historic Rookery and Mohawk buildings and will do so as soon as he can get the appropriate permits from the city.

“I don’t know exactly the date,” said Rob Carper, owner of Rob’s Demolition. “We’re still working with the city on the obstruction permits,” which allow the company to block off parts of the sidewalk or street. “We have to wait until they tell us.”Property owner Wendell Reugh has been trying to sell the buildings for years, asking $4.5 million for the block bounded by Riverside, Sprague, Howard and Stevens. Last fall, he ordered the Merton Building, built in 1890, torn down, along with several other smaller buildings along Sprague Avenue.

Spokane developer Ron Wells said he still is working feverishly to find investors interested in buying the block so he can save the Rookery, built in 1934 and the Mohawk, built in 1915. Wells has said the price for the property rose to $5.6 million following the demolition last year. Wells would like to restore the buildings and develop a mix of commercial and residential uses on the block. Still, he knows he’s running out of time.

“It has been my understanding for a couple of weeks that if there wasn’t a binding, written agreement to buy the buildings this month, October, that he would start tearing down in November,” Wells said. “I did take that warning from (Reugh’s property manager) Steve Gill seriously and I have made every possible effort to find an investor who would see the long-term potential here, see the value and see the value in downtown Spokane.”

Wells said he talked to an investment group in Seattle on Thursday morning and offered to head over there this weekend to discuss the details. He said he’s been given until the end of the month to deliver a solid offer.

“It’s not over ‘til it’s over,” Wells said.

Spokane historic preservation advocates plan to protest the demolition outside the buildings at noon on Saturday, said Matt Cohen, a member of Spokane Preservation Advocates. The group also decries the move in a full-page ad in today’s Spokesman-Review.

It’s hard to say precisely when the buildings would come down as calls to Reugh’s home and office have not been returned.

In addition, his demolition permit lasts until Dec. 22, said city Building Official Joe Wizner. Whenever it begins, Wizner said, demolition should take 1½ to 2½ months due to the extra care needed around the Fernwell Building, the only structure on the block Reugh doesn’t own. It is on the block’s northeast corner.

“It sounds like they’re coming down,” Wizner said of the Rookery and Mohawk buildings. “That’s what I’m hearing.”

However, Wells said he still has hope a deal will come together in time. Over the years, the buildings have been about to be torn down several times, only to be saved by a last-minute deal.

“All I can tell you is that I am hopeful that there is that person willing to do it,” Wells said. “I will continue to make every effort to make the deal work until the buildings start to come down.”

But Carper said it’s unlikely a last-minute deal will prevent demolition at this point.

“They’ve had so many last-minute deals, I think he (Reugh) is tired of them,” Carper said. “The last-minute deals don’t seem to have any money behind them.”

Reugh has said following demolition, he’ll pave the block and install a surface parking lot.