Historic preservation, yes, but at what price?

Back in 1991, my predecessor as business columnist weighed in on some of the then-recent developments in downtown real estate. Frank Bartel seldom pulled a punch. This is his blunt conclusion:

“Worthy as the Mohawk and Rookery buildings may be, if their sacrifice will eliminate the pestilence on Howard (Street), good riddance. Bring on the wrecking ball. Welcome, Diamond Parking.”

These many years later, the street kids that were the “pestilence” have matured and moved on. One hopes.

But the buildings remain. They are not maturing, they are rotting. The wrecking ball is poised. Finally.

The Rookery and Mohawk have become pigeon coops. Semi-historic, of mild architectural interest, but pigeon coops nonetheless. Sometimes, it’s hard to put your finger on what most disturbs their champions; loss of the buildings, or the likelihood they will be replaced by a surface parking lot.

There was little hand-wringing several years ago, when owner Wendell Reugh seemed close to a deal that would have cleared them away to make room for a new office tower.

A gem like The Davenport Hotel can survive protracted inattention. The Rookery and Mohawk are simply not in that league, architecturally or historically.

Spokane has been lucky in retaining as many historic structures as it has. Lucky, too, for people like Ron and Julie Wells, Walt and Karen Worthy, and Rob Brewster, all of whom have done so much to not just preserve buildings, but make them and their occupants contributors to downtown’s renaissance.

The city has been far less fortunate in its experience with what used to be called urban renewal. The office towers that have replaced some long-demolished structures are almost uniformly characterless, and that’s being kind. The Bank of America Finance Center is as harsh and cold as the Rookery across Howard is charming and warm.

Nevertheless, it’s very near the time to let the Rookery and Mohawk go.

Owner Wendell Reugh and numerous investors have broken a gross of pencils over the years trying to make one redevelopment project or another figure. Reugh got close in the late 1990s with the proposed tower that, at least conceptually, would have been a striking addition to the city’s skyline. The plans were tabled in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Nothing has come close since. Given the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in downtown Spokane in recent years – a $19.7 million purchase of The Crescent Court closed Nov. 15 – you have to wonder why the Rookery and Mohawk have been passed over.

Two weeks ago, Tomlinson Black Management, Tomlinson Black Commercial and Kiemle & Hagood sent a thoughtful letter to the Spokane City Council and President Dennis Hession suggesting extreme caution as they try to make the city a transfer agent between Reugh and the Wellses, who are making one last attempt to raise the money necessary to buy those properties.

The letter says the city risks fracturing the fragile foundation of trust supporting efforts to reach a compromise that will close a $6.5 million budget gap. And that is not the only danger.

“There is a strong base of public sentiment in the community that feels in this matter that historic preservation is admirable, but not at all costs, and that, regrettably, the City is ill-equipped at this time to take the risk of a possible financial loss in a Rookery-Mohawk condemnation transaction,” it concludes.

Kiemle & Hagood goes back a long way with Reugh and the Rookery. The Hagood firm brokered Reugh’s 1967 purchase of the building for $820,000, and should know as well as anybody the challenges of making something out of the property.

If the city’s participation can demonstrate to potential investors municipal good will, fine. If a condemnation — with a simultaneous closing with the Wellses — makes a deal more amenable to Reugh, so much the better. The city should promote economic development as actively as it possibly can. The council, Mayor Jim West and, especially, Hession, are stepping up. But there’s a line they must not step over.

Transparency is utmost.

Reugh deserves recognition for his patience, the Wellses for their devotion to a downtown that retains its heritage. Everyone could be doing easier work, if not better.

As for Frank, he might be of a different mind on one of his observations from 14 years ago. “Welcome” Diamond Parking? The company charges $10 for “The Lion King” parking. That kind of gouging likely would have had him roaring mad.