Back to the future

A renovation project that will restore two historic buildings to their original appearance is continuing the momentum of the small-business district on South Perry Street in Spokane.

Two years ago, following an infusion of public money, the streetscape was spruced up with new sidewalks, benches, streetlights and banners. New businesses, including a natural foods store and an ice cream shop, have moved in.

In December, Spokane resident John Stellwagen and his family bought the two buildings on the southwest corner of Perry and 10th Avenue for $190,000, according to title records. The buildings stretch from 1002 to 1014 S. Perry, and are referred to historically as the Hoxsey Block. The older of the two was built in 1910 and the other, in 1939.

“It’s three-quarters of a block, right in the center of the improvements we did,” said John Wojtulewicz, president of the South Perry Business Association. “It was well-maintained, but Mr. Stellwagen is taking it back to its original façade. It is kind of a centerpiece building to the district.”

The Hoxsey Block buildings already house a few businesses, including Haran Irish Dancers, Neat Old Stuff, an antique and furnishings shop, and The Scoop. Crews from the development firm Rencorp continue to build out additional retail spaces for the restaurant and shop Stellwagen said he’d like to find.

The Scoop’s co-owner, Patrick Sullivan, said his ice cream shop is brighter and more welcoming following the installation of large picture windows and the elevation of the ceiling by several feet. Construction crews completed The Scoop’s interior first to prepare for its early-June opening.

Stellwagen said he’s eager to find a restaurant that fits the neighborhood. When it’s finished, tile work on the floor of the restaurant’s entrance will read: “Hoxsey Block, 1910.”

“We’re just trying to put them back the way they were,” Stellwagen said of the buildings. “We bought the buildings because we love the neighborhood.”

Recently the structures were placed on the Spokane Register of Historic Places, which offers reduced property tax rates for 10 years when historic buildings are rehabilitated.

The buildings are just south of The Shop, a coffeehouse whose owners, Mark Camp, Jason Williams and Robert Hartwig, have injected much entrepreneurial spirit into the neighborhood. This summer, Camp said, he and Williams are working overtime making ice cream for their newest venture, Brain Freeze Creamery. The two-year-old ice cream company supplies The Scoop, as well as a Pullman ice cream shop called Licks.

Camp said Stellwagen’s investment in the property is a sign that he believes in the neighborhood. The improvements should attract more businesses to the area, he said.

“It’s right on the edge of really starting to congeal and snowball,” Camp said. “I just feel like people are going to see how nice everything looks.”

Wojtulewicz said the business association is pursuing additional public money to make improvements to the block near Eighth Avenue. And, he said, association members are working with a consultant to pursue designation for the neighborhood as an historic district.

“Every year we seem to get some new development in the neighborhood,” he said.