Strings attached to city’s permit

The demolition permit for two historic buildings on the Rookery Block in downtown Spokane expires today, but property owner Wendell Reugh would like to extend it for 90 days, due to ongoing negotiations with potential buyers.

The city, however, is tired of having a half-block long hole in the ground which poses a safety hazard to pedestrians, said Joe Wizner, the city’s building official. Much of the block was excavated following demolition that occurred last fall.

As a condition of the permit extension, the city plans to require that Reugh fill the hole, secure utility connections and patch the sidewalk so pedestrians can walk there, he said Thursday.

“People are walking in the road around there,” Wizner said. “It’s dangerous.”

Bounded by Riverside, Sprague, Howard and Stevens, the block includes all the property except the Fernwell Building on the northeast corner.

The construction zone along Sprague would remain fenced off, but the sidewalks would be usable under the conditions the city would like to impose, Wizner said. The city plans to require that that work happen within the next 30 days, Wizner said.

That would allow negotiations to continue with potential buyers for another three months before the deadline arrives for the buildings to be torn down.

Developer Ron Wells said earlier this week that he’s still talking to investors about buying the block and said he’ll keep trying until Reugh knocks the buildings down. He met with one investment group last month and said another is planning to come to town within the next week or two.

“Until Wendell starts the demolition, I’ll continue to try to find an investment group that has the vision and the patience to see the long-term value there,” Wells said in a phone message. “So we’ll see how that goes.”

Wells would like to develop both residential and commercial space on the block.

Reugh has been looking for a buyer for the property for several years, initially asking $4.5 million. Last October, crews tore down the Merton building, which was built in 1890, along with several other smaller buildings along Sprague. Several businesses were forced to move.

Then the asking price apparently went up. Wells said he had a verbal agreement to purchase the property for $5.3 million in June. After that, Wells said in a recent news story, Reugh raised the price to $5.5 million.

Reugh’s property manager, Steve Gill, has not returned calls seeking comment.

Reugh has said in the past that if he can’t find a buyer for the property he will demolish the remaining buildings and convert the block into a surface parking lot. The Rookery building was built in 1934 and the Mohawk was built in 1915.

Historic preservation advocates have protested the demolition and collected signatures on petitions calling for the city to save the buildings.