Spokane7
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December 23, 2011 in News, City
City orders no occupancy for Ridpath Hotel
A big chunk of the Ridpath Hotel has been slated for a foreclosure auction Jan. 6.
(Full-size photo)
Spokane City officials today announced that the vacant Ridpath Hotel is “substandard” and ordered that it cannot be occupied due to lack of compliance with fire suppression requirements.
The city’s building official has been working with a complex set of owners since February trying to resolve issues. Today’s announcement follows a Dec. 15 deadline that went unheeded to fix the building’s fire suppression system and provide enough security to prevent access to the building, City Spokeswman Marlene Feist said in a news release.
After the hotel closed in 2008, the complex was sold off in pieces, creating a complex web of ownership. Foreclosure and legal entanglements about owners’ rights to utilities, access and other issues have sparked lawsuits and created significant challenges in meeting the city’s demands.
Owners have until Jan. 20 to appeal the city’s order. Until then, the city will not close off the building. Diamond Parking will be allowed to continue to use the Ridpath’s parking facilitiy until all appeal opportunities have been exhausted, Feist said.
“As in all cases of enforcement, the City’s priorities are public safety and voluntary compliance with City codes,” said Dan Skindzer, deputy building official for the city. “The City will continue to work with all property owners toward the repair of the fire suppression system and securing the building from unauthorized entry.”
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liberal_in_right_wing_land on December 23 at 11:41 a.m.
Stupid moron owners should be embarrassed how they have let this building fall into such disrepair, but of course they couldn’t care less as most of the owners don’t even live in Spokane and couldn’t give a crap about this city or building unless they can make a buck or two off it.
The best option at this point would probably be for the city to see if they can take the building through eminent domain and then just demolish the building and sell the land to ONE person who will build a new building on the property…..and not another parking lot or parking garage.
Shadedmuse on December 23 at 12:00 p.m.
The future of spokane will be another bar restraunt and parking lot. Spokane sucks and this is why.
johnclarke on December 23 at 12:09 p.m.
I say screw the complex whatever, this building needs to come down. Why don’t we spool up all those attorneys hanging around in City Hall and get some legal action going ?
zelda on December 23 at 1:11 p.m.
This type of urban decay is happening all over the country, even in Seattle. It’s going to take 10 years for the debt overhang to work its way through the system. The only cure is time, and ultimately the city of Spokane will wind up owning this hulk. It might be a good location to rent out to reality TV’s “Ghost Adventures” or “My Ghost Story.” Other than that, it’s main value is in the used bricks.
The sooner it comes down the better. As it is it just serves as a constant reminder of how bad things are.
tomnsahl on December 23 at 1:42 p.m.
During this season of what should be good will, it is sad to see such grinchy posts. For those who can do nothing but complain about Spokane - PLEASE be part of the solution or exercise your right to remain silent!
Here is a good SR link for those who care:
http://www.spokesman.com/picture-stories/history-ridpath-hotel/
The Ridpath will always hold a special place in Spokane’s history and my heart.
greenlibertarian on December 23 at 1:57 p.m.
It’d be helpful if some of the owners were not shady operators…
Steve Eugster on December 23 at 2:34 p.m.
There is a way to deal with Ridpath Hotel. http://www.steveeugster.com/ripath_hotel.htm
mdriftmeyer on December 23 at 4:20 p.m.
“The best option at this point would probably be for the city to see if they can take the building through eminent domain and then just demolish the building and sell the land to ONE person who will build a new building on the property…..and not another parking lot or parking garage.”
That’s one ignorant comment.
The Hotel is approaching the century mark and historical preservation should be a priority.
This thread is hilarious. The same ignorant comments about the Davenport when it had all kinds of absurd ownerships ensued and look at it now.
Username2 on December 23 at 6:11 p.m.
One wonders how the state of disrepair compares to the Davenport when it was at its worst? In any case, it’s nice to have a local precedent (and hopefully some inspiration/incentive) for having a landmark hotel rise from the ashes.
One can only hope that we can catch lightning in a bottle and have the same happen with the Ridpath, but with a fractured, absentee ownership it seems like a pipe dream.
Open_Spokane on December 24 at 12:41 p.m.
Why not turn it into a jail?
brianrbreen on December 25 at 9:20 a.m.
I would think it might be a good idea to have someone take a real good look at the entire financial interactions and various structures (if they aren’t already) prior to the investment of any public funds. John Harlow Tucker and others come to mind since the problems with the Ridpath seem to be similar to those the Davenport Hotel went trough.