Downtown Spokane block closed for 14 months for ambitious development causing consternation for businesses

Roman Harner said the first Monday of February was the Volstead Act’s worst day in the 13 years the bar has served downtown patrons.

“We’re definitely feeling some impacts,” Harner said, gesturing to the construction site outside his front door.

Until March 2026, Post Street will be closed to through traffic between Riverside and Sprague avenues as a pair of developers works to convert downtown Spokane’s historic Peyton Building from office space into apartments.

Building owner Jordan Tampien, of 4 Degrees Real Estate, and business partner Ryan Berg have budgeted $33 million for an extensive renovation that will add a climbing wall, a library and a two-story atrium, in addition to 96 apartments.

“We have such high office vacancy here, but one way to decrease that is taking some of these older, less desirable buildings away from office space into residential, which can drive more traffic downtown,” Tampien said.

Large tarp-covered fences have obstructed the roadway since the start of the year, blocking off about eight parking spots on the street. While the loss of parking spaces isn’t a huge hit, the loss of foot traffic due to the elaborate scaffolding on the east sidewalk is, Harner said.

The lengthy duration of the closure is due to the uniqueness of the project, Tampien said. He usually has a few acres to lay out equipment, supplies and work crews to develop a project this big. In downtown Spokane, he’s been afforded a single block.

“It was easier to do this than open, close, open, close, open, close, and then trying to coordinate deliveries around it,” Tampien said. “So at this point, our hope is sooner rather than later. I’d rather say March and we get done in December, then say March and we go till September.”

The project has received the city of Spokane’s blessing, with Mayor Lisa Brown saying she hopes the building will breathe new life into the downtown once completed. City planners helped expedite the permit process and waived fees along the way, as reported by The Spokesman-Review last fall.

Tampien shares Brown’s vision of helping downtown Spokane become a place where people can enjoy living, working and frequenting local businesses, he said. He’s had success in doing so with other projects in the neighborhood, including the development around Brick West Brewing, of which Tampien is a co-owner.

“Our hope is just to continue that kind of an atmosphere,” Tampien said. “It’s just, you can’t take an old dumpy building and jump right to that. That’s the hard part: Everybody wants it to happen tomorrow.”

While the business owners on the block are looking forward to the makeover’s results, there’s uncertainty about whether they’ll be able to manage the project’s challenges long enough to see the payoffs.

Harner’s business, as well as Cochinito Taqueria next door, rely heavily on foot traffic from the hotel and entertainment district as people make their way down to River Park Square, the Spokane Arena or Riverfront Park.

With the scaffolding in the way, there’s no way to access their businesses without a detour if approaching from the hotels just a few blocks South. An out-of-towner may not even know the shops are there.

“We’ve typically survived on when events are in town, big summertime stuff, or even the Christmas things, where people are walking to and from the Davenport to the mall,” said Cochinito owner Travis Dickinson. “And at this point, we just don’t look super inviting.”

Kirstin Davis, a spokeswoman for Spokane Public Works, said Tampien and the contractors will make accommodations for major events like Bloomsday, the Lilac Parade and Hoopfest. She did not disclose what those accommodations will entail, saying that it depends on the event.

“We work with each of them individually to see how the closure impacts the event,” Davis said in a written statement.

Dickinson said the closure is already hitting them harder than they expected. Sales in January dropped 30% year over year, and the building owners have yet to produce the additional signage they promised the shops affected by the construction.

“We’re really hoping those directional signs get up soon on the landlord’s end,” Dickinson said. “I really would hope the city jumps in at some point to help out a bit, because they ultimately approved this project. I haven’t seen much on that end, either.”

Davis said the city has requested the building owners and contractors coordinate with the impacted businesses “with advance notice and to arrange or accommodate for necessary customer and delivery access, along with detour and wayfinding signage.”

Tampien said he’s working to get the signage completed, and is also working closely with the business owners to find other creative solutions to drum up business. He’s pulled the fences back from the sidewalks to improve visibility of their storefronts, is working with security to keep homeless encampments, crime and vandalism at bay, and is looking for other “creative solutions” to address the tenants’ concerns, he said.

While the closure is a hurdle, it’s not the sole reason for the decline in business, Tampien said. The winter months are typically slower for local restaurants and shops, and consumer angst about the current economy is not helping. He said he’s seen the trend in his brewery, with Brick West seeing a 20% drop in January compared to last year.

Dickinson and Harner said the contractors actually doing the work have been good about coordinating with them, but that communication with Tampien and Berg could improve.

The businesses could have taken their own steps to help mitigate some of the impacts, like making their own wayfinding signs, Dickinson said.

“It’d be a really neat project once it’s completed, but just the communication, the timing of it, has been tough,” Dickinson said.

Tampien said he plans on meeting with the owners soon to discuss other marketing strategies and support measures that could salve some of their discomfort.

Nestled in the center of the block, behind two “Sidewalk Closed” signs and through a tunnel under the trash chute hanging from the building, are the Tempus Cellars and Cougar Crest Winery tasting rooms.

Tempus manager Michael Whetstone said their business relies less on foot traffic than their neighbors, but has still had to contend with challenges brought on by the construction.

The blocked-off square where the contractors are at work now has security lights and cameras operating at night, but the lack of those initially created a dangerous environment, he said. Whetstone’s biggest headache now is cleaning up the construction debris raining down from the trash chute above the door to both tasting rooms.

Whetstone expects their devoted members to help them navigate the uncertainty ahead.

“I mean, I’m an eternally optimistic person, so I get by with that,” Whetstone said.

All of the businesses on the block are hoping community support will help them get through the coming year-plus. It’s already been a challenging string of months, Dickinson said.

The ongoing “doom and gloom” narrative surrounding downtown espoused by some in the region is exacerbating the challenges Dickinson and his business already face, he said. There are valid concerns and issues surrounding downtown, but at a certain point, he wonders if all the attention is just fear-mongering that drives customers away.

“We’re all pretty longstanding downtown businesses that I think have done a lot to add to and support the downtown core,” Dickinson said. “The recent narratives just around downtown in general, and safety concerns, and homelessness, and all that stuff, have already started to kind of chip away at us a bit.”

“So having one more hurdle to jump over is feeling pretty insurmountable right now,” he added.