Doug Clark: Cool inside, good ol’ Spokane outside

There are many decisions to make when attempting to create one of Spokane’s coolest condos.

Where to put the brass fireman’s pole, say.

Or making sure your wheels will fit in the mini-garage.

“I get 14 feet,” Matt Roberts told me as he finished pacing the curb next to his white 1999 Porsche, from taillights to headlights.

Two feet to spare. Just don’t trade it for a Lincoln Continental.

For the last several months, Roberts, who is 33 years old and single, has been busily turning 2,300 square feet of the historic Oakley building into the ultimate downtown pad.

With his project nearing completion, Roberts invited me to take a gander at his ground-level condo at 417 W. First.

I’m not entirely sure why he wanted me.

True, I once did make a splash as an architectural innovator. But that happened in college when, to the admiration of my friends, I covered my drab dorm room walls with stick-on fake plastic bricks.

Welcome to Doug’s Love Lair, ladies.

Roberts is too young to know about that. So I suspect he was just looking for some free ink.

But moments after shaking his hand, I realized that these new digs really are worthy of notice.

Roberts directed my gaze to a wall upon which a 7-by-7-foot antique gilded frame was hung.

The middle of the frame was cloaked by a red-velvet curtain.

“Keep looking,” Roberts advised.

My host, as I learned later, secretly pushed a button on a remote control he had in a pocket. Suddenly, the curtains began to slowly part, revealing …

A large, flat-screen plasma TV.

I am so on board with the condo lifestyle.

The rest of the place is very striking, too. There are high ceilings and exposed brick. There are hardwood floors and stainless steel fixtures.

A spectacular steel staircase created by metal artist Tim Biggs leads to a master bedroom. Here’s an interesting feature: From the loft bedroom an onlooker can gaze straight down into the walk-in shower that has stamped concrete floors with radiant heating.

Speaking of the commode, the massive bathroom door once hung in an auto shop. Despite its weight, the industrial door rolls easily on a suspended custom rod.

Roberts is right. This condo is definitely cool.

But is it too cool for Spokane?

“I’m building for me,” said Roberts. “I’m not even thinking about whether Spokane is ready for it.”

Well, that’s not entirely true. Roberts, who sells real estate, said he wouldn’t turn down “a sweet offer.” Selling this condo for the right price could help launch his career as a condo designer/developer.

What is that right price?

Roberts said he will be into his urban abode for about $190,000. Downtown condo space, he added, is selling from $250 to $325 a square foot. So 300 bucks a square foot would yield a $690,000 price tag.

From this calculation we can deduce that I am definitely in the WRONG LINE OF WORK.

Getting that high-end price is no sure thing, naturally. But I’m betting the condo’s uniqueness will definitely turn a profit.

The public will be able to take a look during Father’s Day weekend. Roberts’ condo will be one of the free stops on “Live it Up!” – a downtown tour of lofts and lifestyles. See www.liveitupspokane.com for details.

Roberts and I aren’t strangers. I met him some years ago when he was helping promote Dax Johnson, Spokane’s brilliant self-taught pianist who died of an overdose in 2005.

Now you could say that Roberts is helping promote another phenomenon: the much ballyhooed Spokane condo craze.

“It’s right outside your door, the excitement,” he said. “You have access to everything. The suburbs are boring. It’s neat to be near all the action but also have your own private space.”

There is something to be said for downtown dwelling.

As Petula Clark once observed, “When you’ve got worries, all the noise and the hurry seems to help, I know.

“Downtown.”

But living in a residential neighborhood has some pluses, too. For example, not once as a traditional homeowner have I ever had to utter the words:

“That’s a doormat, pal, NOT a urinal!”

“We have had some puke in the corner there,” said Roberts, chuckling as he pointed to an area in his doorway.

That must be some of that “excitement” he was talking about.