Sale of Crescent, Paterson buildings OK’d
WestCoast Hospitality Corp. said it has entered into an agreement to sell the historic Crescent and Paterson buildings in downtown Spokane.
The agreement was announced Tuesday as part of a $48 million string of purchases that includes the Budget Inn on Fourth Avenue in Spokane and six other hotels in Washington, Montana and Oregon.
WestCoast declined to name the buyers of any of the properties. The transactions are expected to close by the end of the year.
Spokane-based WestCoast announced in November it would sell 11 hotels and other properties in order to raise $40 million to renovate its remaining 31 hotels in 11 states plus British Columbia. The hotels the publicly traded company will keep include the Red Lion River Inn and Hotel at the Park and the Red Lion Templin’s Hotel on the River in Post Falls.
WestCoast also declined to comment on the sales price of the Crescent and Paterson buildings and the Budget Inn.
The seven-story Crescent building, at 701 W. Main St., was listed for sale jointly with the Paterson building for $21.5 million. The properties were listed with brokerage firm CB Richard Ellis.
The 153-room Budget Inn, built in 1972, was listed with Colliers International for $3.5 million.
Brokers from both real estate firms did not return calls requesting comment.
Julie Langenheim, investor relations manager at WestCoast Hospitality, said the WestCoast Ridpath Hotel in downtown Spokane is still listed for sale with Colliers at $20 million. The Ridpath, built in 1904, has 342 rooms.
Dave Black, CEO of Tomlinson Black Commercial real estate, said he had talked with the likely new owner about possible plans for the Crescent and Paterson buildings.
“I doubt the use is going to be much different than what it is now,” he said. “There might be some changes to the second-floor skywalk level.”
The buildings’ tenants currently include retail stores, such as the Moose Lake Company, and offices for the United States Postal Service and the Bonneville Power Administration, among others. The Crescent building is now known as Crescent Court.
Walt Worthy, owner of the Davenport Hotel and the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Spokane, said creating more office space might be a good use for the buildings.
“It was clever of them to convert it to office space,” he said of the building’s current makeup.
WestCoast still lists two Red Lion hotels for sale in Idaho Falls and Yakima, along with the WestCoast Outlaw Hotel in Kalispell, Mont.
Langenheim said WestCoast already has begun renovating hotels in Seattle and Kelso, Wash., and in Boise.
WestCoast shares closed up 5 percent Tuesday at $6.90.