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Former Trade Winds motel downtown could become Howard Johnson

The venerable Tradewinds Motor Inn at Third Ave. and Lincoln will be renovated by the Howard Johnson chain with an eye toward preserving the 1960s architecture. (Jesse Tinsley / SR)
The venerable Tradewinds Motor Inn at Third Ave. and Lincoln will be renovated by the Howard Johnson chain with an eye toward preserving the 1960s architecture. (Jesse Tinsley / SR)Buy a print of this photo
By Jonathan Brunt jonathanb@spokesman.com(509) 459-5442

A vacant motel that’s become an eyesore at the gateway to downtown Spokane could reopen by the end of the year.

Work to remodel the Trade Winds Motor Inn could start as early as next month, said David Malik, a developer based in Renton, Washington, who is working on a deal to buy the concrete-block, curved inn.

Malik, the managing partner of a group trying to buy the property, said the motel will open as a Howard Johnson. He hopes it will be ready for guests by Thanksgiving after a $3 million renovation.

Dave Black, one of the current owners of the Trade Winds, said negotiations are ongoing. “At this point in time there is no firm deal, but we are hopeful there will be,” he said via email.

Still, the prospect of a redeveloped, reopened Trade Winds has “definitely brought some excitement to our office,” said Mark Richard, president of the Downtown Spokane Partnership. “The property is unique and has some potential.”

City officials have expressed interest in renovating or redeveloping the site because it is prominently seen when exiting Interstate 90 onto Lincoln Street. It has been vacant since the end of 2012.

“A lot of our focus in the last few years has been on first impressions,” Richard said. “It hasn’t been the most welcoming showcase.”

A retail strip mall recently opened on one of the city’s other “gateway” properties at Third Avenue and Division Street. That development replaced a hole that had been dug for a hotel before the project stalled.

The 60-room Trade Winds was built in 1962 by Henry Lackman. The Lackman family ran it as a motel until the mid-1990s, when they turned it into cheap downtown housing. The building was bought by Mark Pinch and Dave Black in 1998, but the Lackmans continued operating it until it closed at the end of 2012.

Despite the opening last year of the city’s largest hotel, the Davenport Grand, and construction of a Hampton Inn near Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, Malik believes there’s still a need for hotel rooms downtown. He said the Trade Winds location is good because of its proximity to downtown and two hospitals.

Malik said he plans to apply for tax credits for preserving historic aspects of the building. The footprint wouldn’t change, though the outdoor pool would be filled with concrete and a water feature for kids installed in its place.

Megan Duvall, Spokane’s city-county historic preservation officer, said she had the building examined by Michael Houser, the state architectural historian, after interest emerged in remodeling the site.

He believes the motel is eligible for the National Register for Historic Places because it is a good example of development downtown after World War II, he said in a letter last year to Duvall’s office.

“The hotel’s unusual curved form, coupled with the Tiki design motif is rare in Washington State with only a handful of examples to be found,” he wrote.

In a meeting last month with city officials, Duvall said developers expressed interest in maintaining the building’s “midcentury feel.”

“They wanted to keep it very authentic,” Duvall said.