Hotel becomes issue
“Hotel,” a 30-second TV commercial by the National Republican Congressional Committee, criticizes Don Barbieri for a 1989 proposal he made regarding the Davenport Hotel.
“When the historic Davenport Hotel was closed down, many wanted it reopened, but developer Don Barbieri wanted it converted into a library,” the ad says.
The ad cites a July 13, 1989, Journal of Business article in which Barbieri mentioned studies that showed the Davenport wouldn’t be economically viable as a hotel at the time.
“But developer Barbieri had his own plans to build an all-suites hotel nearby,” the ad continues. “He recommends converting the landmark hotel (into a library) so he can build another hotel nearby?”
“Don Barbieri. Putting money – and himself – first.”
Barbieri’s stance The hotel was boarded up. The library needed a new home. Don Barbieri made a suggestion. “It wasn’t like he was blocking a current proposal or plan to make it into what it is now,” spokesman Stephen Barbieri said. “He was putting ideas out there.” In 1989, Spokane Transit Authority hadn’t yet named Barbieri’s company as the one it wanted to partner with to build CenterPlace, a transit plaza-hotel-office-condominium high-rise building downtown. That’s the project the ad says would have been in competition with the Davenport. “The NRCC said they would do whatever it takes to keep a Republican in that (congressional) seat,” Stephen Barbieri said. “That apparently includes not telling the truth.” | NRCC’s stance “The essence is that there was a historic hotel, a beautiful facility, and he said that a hotel there can’t make any money while he has plans to open one of his own around the corner,” NRCC spokesman Bo Harmon said. “It’s all part of his business record. … As we look back at his business record there’s instance after instance where he puts himself first and the interest of others second.” |
In 1989, when the Davenport was closed down and deteriorating, Barbieri suggested renovating the hotel’s first two floors and housing the Spokane Public Library there. The upper floors would have housed residences and offices under his plan. Barbieri proposed turning Sprague Avenue, for two blocks west of the hotel, into an old-fashioned, cobblestone street with antique lampposts, iron fences and other historic touches. He wanted the stretch to be an attraction to draw people downtown. A separate proposal considered at the time was to convert the hotel into retirement housing. But Barbieri said that would block most people from enjoying the Davenport’s grand rooms and even the lobby. Housing the library there and hosting cultural events in those spaces ensured public access to the Spokane landmark. All of that is stated in the article NRCC cites in the ad. Also voiced in the article were the concerns of Ellen Robey, chairwoman of the Friends of the Davenport. The organization wanted the building to be used as a hotel again – not as a library. “I don’t know if you’ve been in the library lately, but I don’t know that I’d want those people lying in front of the fireplace in the (Davenport’s) lobby,” Robey said in the article, referring to derelicts who frequented the library. She questioned how Barbieri could say using the Davenport as a hotel wasn’t viable when he was proposing CenterPlace, which would have included hotel rooms. But CenterPlace would have had 136 rooms – about one-third the number of rooms the Davenport had. Restoring the Davenport to its original grandeur wasn’t feasible for another 11 years. The Journal article also noted that Robey worked for ALSC Architects when the article was written, and ALSC was part of a development group proposing a big project in competition with Barbieri’s high-rise. In the article, she insisted that her position with ALSC had nothing to do with her stance against Barbieri’s proposal, and that the proposal from her employer’s development group did nothing to preserve the Davenport as a hotel, either. | |
Ad watch is an analysis of campaign advertising that will appear regularly during election season. Contact Megan Cooley at (509) 927-2165 or meganc@spokesman.com | For more information on the election, and to see selected campaign advertisements, visit the online election guide at: www.spokesmanreview.com/elections |