Since November of 2004, there has been a hole in the heart of downtown Spokane. That date marked the demolition of the Merton building – an 1890 architectural jewel representing one of the city’s oldest historic downtown buildings.

Last month, the hole, an economic dead zone in the city center, grew bigger, as the same owner demolished the adjacent Rookery building, another historically significant structure. And the owner may not yet be finished: the Mohawk building, a third historic resource that currently sits on the same downtown block, may be torn down before the end of the year.

What will replace these structures? Leading the list of possible projects is a surface parking lot.

Aside from the loss of irreplaceable historic resources, does demolition of significant properties pose a quantifiable cost to Spokane? What opportunities are missed as a result of the willful creation of economic dead zones like the one now present at the corner of Howard and Riverside? On Dec. 12, a group of state and local preservationists who gathered in Spokane to discuss the economic benefits of historic preservation provided answers to these questions: investment in the local economy and job creation.

The Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation recently released a study evaluating the economic impacts of historic preservation statewide. The report finds that on average, $15.4 million was spent annually from 2000 to 2004 on historic rehabilitation in Spokane County. Furthermore, spending on historic rehabilitation countywide supported 400 jobs and paid $13.7 million in wages and salaries each year. These statistics demonstrate that historic rehabilitation generated a similar number of jobs and wages per $1 million spent compared with the general construction, wood products and food products industries.

A quick examination of recent projects in downtown Spokane bears out these statistics. The Montvale Hotel, the Steam Plant Square project, the American Legion building and, of course, the fantastic Davenport Hotel rehabilitation all took advantage of available financial incentives, preserving important elements of the city’s heritage in the process. Moreover, several projects, including the Masonic Temple, the National Hotel, the Alger Bristol, and the ongoing work to restore the wonderful Fox Theater, will further contribute to the economic development power historic rehabilitation holds for Spokane.

The report also discusses the connection between residential property values and historic designation. Spokane’s Corbin Park Historic District is included as one of four examples illustrating the positive correlation historic designation can have with the values of our homes. Not coincidentally, an October Video Journal on The Spokesman-Review’s Web site notes that since the start of 2002, 87 properties have been listed in the Spokane Register of Historic Places. That number is more than double the listings of the preceding five-year period, indicating that the residential property value connection is not lost on Spokane homeowners.

Notably, historic preservation has taken a foothold at City Hall as well. Downtown now has a demolition ordinance (a direct response to the Merton building being torn down in 2004), the City Council enacted a single-family downzone to help protect a significant residential historic district and the city played an active role in attempting to locate a buyer for the Rookery and Mohawk buildings.

Why did Spokane lose the Rookery? Because the property owner, despite several viable offers, continued to raise the price of the buildings while at the same time refusing to structure a potential deal that would have made rehabilitation possible. The owner opted to take this action despite advocacy campaigns on the part of local and statewide preservation organizations and despite evidence illustrating the economic power of historic preservation.

It is sadly ironic that this month’s discussion heralding preservation activity in Spokane County over the past five years came on the heels of the Rookery building’s demolition. A project aimed at rehabilitating the Rookery would have spurred local investment and employed local workers – two important results that the creation of another surface parking lot will never achieve. Spokane has embraced the valuable lessons, both in economic and cultural terms, historic preservation teaches. Saving the remaining Mohawk building is possible, but only if the owner heeds these same lessons.