Living the high life

Downtown Spokane’s most exclusive residence will soon be available for lease for the first time in 50 years.

The penthouse occupied by heiress Helen Paulsen, who died last March, has been cleared of her possessions. The North by Northwest Productions crew that moved in to shoot “The Golden Door” left two weeks ago.

Lisa Dowers can now begin marketing the 2,320-square-foot aerie in earnest. How, says the regional vice president for West & Wheeler, is not clear.

But she does know the rent will not be the cozy $600 Paulsen paid. Her 50-year lease, which would have expired this year, tightly capped increases. Dowers says she will be looking for something in the range of $3,000 to $4,000 per month after renovations are complete. In the midst of the downtown condo boom, she notes, high-end rentals are scarce. The 16th-floor penthouse, at 421 W. Riverside Ave., is the highest and the scarcest.

And probably the quirkiest.

Until the North by Northwest film crew moved in, every non-floor surface was painted in what Dowers calls an “icy” blue. The color remains in the 1950s-era kitchen, as do the period appliances. The master bath comes with a lavender bathtub. One dressing area is completely wrapped by etched mirrors. Leaky planters that once held the home’s distinctive trees have been covered.

“Design-wise, it’s not laid out very well,” Dowers says.

She has her own ideas about upgrades, including opening up a small second floor that had been used for storage. But she may hold off on bringing in an interior designer, instead letting a prospective tenant take the lead. There have been a few inquiries, she says, but they have been put off while the apartment was cleaned out, a task that took three months.

Paulsen, Dowers says, “Didn’t throw away anything, ever.”

Major mechanical upgrades are in order. Wiring is far short of adequate, and there is no fiber-optic connectivity. Also, the unit was heated by the Paulsen Building’s main boiler. That was expensive, Dowers says, because Helen Paulsen wanted heat when the rest of the building was empty, or during non-winter months.

The penthouse was the only residential space in the Paulsen, which Dowers has supervised for five years. West & Wheeler manages the commercial properties of the Diamond Company, owner of the Paulsen since 1998.

The Paulsen, actually two buildings constructed in 1909 and 1929, contains 217,000 square feet of space. Although 95 percent occupied, Dowers says the property has never made money. Revenues are invested in property improvements.

There is no pressure from Diamond to get the penthouse leased, Dowers says.

Although some thought was given to commercial development of the space for receptions or a wine bar, for example, public use is probably out of the question because access is so difficult.

The unit has a heart-stopping fire escape and staircase to the lower floors, but only one elevator ascends to the 16th floor, and that requires a key. The building would have to be staffed after hours to accommodate public functions.

Conceivably, Dowers says, the penthouse could be split into two spaces, but she downplays that possibility.

“I think someone will want the whole thing,” she says.

Dowers says she hopes to hang on to the unit at least through December. She throws a Christmas party for Paulsen tenants every year. With the penthouse available, it should be very well-attended.

Look-sees of downtown’s loftiest home come around only every half-century.