Burgans owners receive second offer
Owners of defunct Burgans Furniture have received two purchase offers for the block containing their aging buildings, and it is unclear which party will acquire the highly visible parcel.
Spokane-based SRM Development LLC had an agreement to buy the long-standing furniture store building, at 1120 N. Division St., and surrounding land for a future mixed-use development, but an undisclosed party made a higher offer, said Burgans majority owner Bruce McEachran. He called the development a “small hiccup,” saying he thinks SRM will be the front-runner soon.
“I don’t have my hopes set high that this will come through, although it may come through,” he said of the new offer.
But SRM would “have to land an anchor tenant to move forward with this,” said Dave Tomson, SRM development manager. That’s a tough proposition in today’s economy, with national retailers especially reluctant to expand in the face of shrinking sales.
“They’ve had some nibbles and stuff, but nobody’s signed on the dotted line,” McEachran said.
The block is bounded by Division and Ruby streets, and Desmet and Boone avenues. With a high traffic count, it lends itself to a small, mixed-use development, Tomson said. SRM proposed transforming the four-story main building, built in 1921, into offices with a restaurant or other space below, he said.
The remaining land, which contains several old warehouses, would house retail and restaurants, he said.
“It’s a fabulous piece of land,” Tomson said. “That block has a lot of historic value.”
SRM is rehabbing the Grant Building in downtown Spokane at Riverside Avenue and Post Street, constructing the large Riverstone mixed-use development in Coeur d’Alene and has proposed at least one mixed-use condo tower on the former YWCA site north of the Spokane River.
The agreement with SRM would be finalized by the end of August, McEachran said.
“We’ve been working on this with them for quite some time,” McEachran said. “There’s a very good agreement signed. Part of the agreement was if something happened, we could listen to another offer.”
Financial details of either deal were not disclosed.
McEachran in mid-April announced E.S. Burgan & Son Inc. would close the store, sell off its roughly $4 million in inventory and sell the property, but had declined to reveal the buyer.
“It was unbelievable,” McEachran said of the sale. “The first few days I had no idea what to expect.”
The store closed May 24 after a weeks-long liquidation sale.
McEachran added he wanted to “express my sincere appreciation to the community for allowing Burgans to be here for so many years, and hopefully they were pleased with our level of service.”