January 9, 2007 in Home

URBAN STYLE Downtown Living

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Holly Pickett photo

Tama and Bruce Jordan pose for a portrait in their loft in the Morgan Building. The Jordans moved into the loft in June 2006.
(Full-size photo)

“My weed whacker,” says Bruce Jordan, fondly recalling one of the many possessions he gave up when he and his wife, Tama, moved from suburban Spokane Valley to a loft downtown. “I know I don’t need it here,” he says. “But it was hard.”

Not so for Tama, who describes the cathartic unburdening of years of accumulation as “one of the greatest experiences of my life.”

It’s been a year since the two elementary-school teachers and recent empty nesters opted out of their enormous five-bedroom, five-bath Veradale home in favor of the 1,800-square-foot condo they now share.

“Our kids are pretty much on their own,” Tama says. “We were just rattling around in that big house.”

Downsizing seemed to make sense, though the Jordans weren’t exactly seeking the urban experience when they stumbled across Ron Wells’ stylish Morgan Building on east Riverside Ave. On a whim last January the couple ducked into an open house, checked out the top-floor loft overlooking Riverfront Park, and were sold.

They moved in June of last year, trading their panoramic Spokane Valley vista for a sixth-floor view of the Clocktower, and rush-hour traffic for happy-hour cocktails at trendy hotspots downtown.

Tama, who grew up in Seattle and lived briefly in London and Chicago, loved the idea of a condo in the urban core. Bruce, a longtime Valley resident, was a harder sell, though Tama says he has since come around.

“I thought it was going to be really loud,” he says. “Maybe I’ve just gotten used to it.”

Both say they enjoy the proximity to downtown eateries.

“We eat out a lot more than we used to,” Tama says, citing P.F. Chang’s and Prago Argentine Cafe, two recently opened haunts. “We have to really watch it.”

Then again, they also walk everywhere – restaurants, movies, the drugstore, the bookstore, the opera house.

With two small dogs, the couple also make good use of Riverfront Park.

“They get a good long walk twice a day,” Bruce says. “We take turns.”

The Jordans even take advantage of the city’s many skywalks.

“I can get all the way to the library,” Tama says.

Bruce says he especially likes being close to the Spokane Arena.

“Before, everybody just had to drive home after games,” he says. “Now we can walk back here and we get a little beer garden going.”

Although Spokane’s downtown might not be as vibrant as those in some larger cities, the Jordans say they were surprised by the bustling nightlife.

“Spokane has always been the kind of city that pulls its sidewalks in at 5 p.m.,” Bruce says. “That has changed.”

He says the park features nightly events, and the old Looff Carrousel stays open late.

“It makes it feel a lot safer,” Bruce says.

Even the area’s resident panhandlers aren’t as intimidating as the Jordans had first thought.

“You do get panhandled, but that kind of thing is not hard compared to so many other urban areas,” Tama says. “It’s like they’re our neighbors.”

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