Pia Hansen: Siting marketplace not so easy, for now

I‘m not much of a shopper in the first place, so it felt odd to go shopping for a year-round marketplace location, especially since I didn’t have a dime to my name. But that’s what I did this week.

When the year-round market group met for the second time on Tuesday morning, a handful of buildings were discussed passionately, but no one had any specs so I decided to go and check them out. Price-wise, free or two bucks a month was what I had in mind.

Someone mentioned the Crescent Services building on South Lincoln, so that was my first stop.

“How much space do they need?” Dan Overhauser, who owns the building, asked, looking a little puzzled.

Not wanting to admit that I was both clueless and metrically challenged I suggested the entire first floor.

“That’s 20,000 feet so that’s $10,000 a month in rent,” he said.

I have a pretty good poker face so I don’t think I flinched, but that’s a heck of a lot of dried flowers and heirloom tomatoes to sell just to pay the rent.

The location is great, in the middle of downtown, close to offices and new housing developments. The building has plenty of red brick and big-beam charm. Semitrucks can get in there, so farmers probably can, too, but there’s only street parking.

Then it was on to the old Costco building on East Third. Personally, I’ve been lobbying for Ikea to move in there, but the darn Swedes aren’t listening.

The building can be subleased for the nifty sum of $22,100 per month, plus operating expenses, through the end of 2008. Ugh. Suddenly $10,000 sounded like a bargain.

I think this site is too far from downtown, not to mention that the building has the charm of the inside of a sardine can. The loading dock is built for Costco-size pallets and there’s plenty of parking, but I was not sold.

On I went to the Jensen-Byrd building, which the group spent so much time talking about on Tuesday you’d think it was already a done deal. It’s not – not by a far stretch.

The Jensen-Byrd building belongs to Washington State University, and it is uncertain what’s going to happen to it. The almost 100-year-old building became the new darling of local preservationists when demolition rumors started circulating last fall.

“We don’t have any immediate plans for the building,” said Barbara Chamberlain, director of communications and public affairs for WSU Spokane. “We plan to work on an update of the campus master plan, and that building will be taken into account in that plan.”

Located on the northeast corner of Main Avenue and Pine Street, in the University District, the Jensen-Byrd is a stately brick warehouse classic. There’s easy access right off Division and the freeway, and it’s within walking distance of downtown. It looks like there would be plenty of parking, so those are all pluses – but WSU didn’t seem eager to hand over the keys. You can’t blame them: It’s a nice chunk of prime real estate they’ve got there.

Since I was in the area, I peeked through the windows at the original marketplace site on Division and Riverside. It’s empty and falling apart, and I was beginning to feel a little silly.

Last stop was the Goodyear building on the corner of Browne and Main.

Jim Sheehan, owner of the Community Building and founder of the Center for Justice – someone who’s known to put his money where his mouth is – owns it.

“Our thought is this: When the lease is up, we’d make that building available to farmers as a permanent home, if they choose to accept the offer,” Sheehan said. Now how about that?

It’s a few years down the road, but Sheehan has plans to remodel the building and construct a greenhouse for growing produce on the rooftop.

“It would be year-round as the doors could be opened or closed,” Sheehan said. Now there’s a great idea, and it’s coming from someone who actually owns the building he’s talking about.

With that I’d say my shopping spree ended on a hopeful note.

And at this stage of planning, that’s really all you can ask for.