Flour Mill to sell office condos

The Flour Mill, a historic building on the north bank of the Spokane River that’s home to Clinkerdagger Restaurant, now has office condominiums for sale.

Condos will be created on the fifth, sixth and seventh floors, which each have 4,000 square feet of space that could be utilized wholly or divided into smaller offices, said Gordon Hester, principal and director of Kiemle & Hagood Co.’s commercial management division.

“We think it’s just a great opportunity for anyone who wants some unique, cool office space,” Hester said.

Under a condominium structure, tenants would own their space rather than lease it.

Kiemle & Hagood Co. recently took over managing the Flour Mill — a seven-story building that has been around since 1895 and is owned by G.V.L. Investors and Presidio Development Partners in San Francisco.

In 1974, the landmark structure was remodeled into offices, shops and restaurants. Over the past few years, though, the property battled vacancies as some specialty retailers left.

Office condos have taken off in larger cities, but are relatively new in the Spokane area, Hester said. Until recently, most professional condo arrangements in the area were among groups of doctors and dentists who pooled their resources to locate together, he said.

With construction materials at a premium, Hester thinks the timing is right for the condos, which tentatively cost $175 a square foot (assuming a basic level of remodeling).

“We think with all the development on the periphery of Spokane that the office condo concept could be very successful at the Flour Mill,” he said.

The lower levels have been refurbished and will contain a mix of leased spaces suitable for office, retail or restaurants. Several businesses have expressed interest in both the condos and lease space, he said.

Kiemle & Hagood Co. plans to spend the next two months studying the parking scenario at the Flour Mill to take into account residential condos being built nearby. That project, called the Upper Falls Condominiums, is headed by a development group that includes businessman and developer Don Barbieri and Maxwell Drever, of G.V.L. Investors, owner of the Flour Mill.

The Upper Falls project includes 28 units, with prices starting at $400,000. Although the project took roughly a third of the Flour Mill’s parking lot, Upper Falls residents will have their own underground parking.

Hester said additional parking for the Flour Mill’s customers, business owners and employees could be obtained through Global Credit Union and the city, adding, “There’s a variety of other lots around the area and we just have to work on what’s going to the best option.”