MetroSpokane

4 days, 23 hours, 20 minutes...

4 days, 23 hours, 20 minutes...As of this posting that is the amount of time remaining in the life of the Rookery Block's last two structures:  The Rookery and the Mohawk.  It appears as if this drama has about run it's course.  Wendell Reugh, of Reugh Construction in Spokane has decided that if Ron Wells does not have a deal in hand by October 31st, the wrecking ball will start swinging the next day.  His gift to Spokane: another surface parking lot.

The development of these parcels didn't need to be so difficult.  A number of firms gave it a try.  Some more than one.  Residential and commercial projects in and around the core are increasing, but for some reason getting this one to pencil for developers was like herding cats.  It's easy to point the finger at Wendell Reugh.  He's made his fortune in this city [some of you may be living in an apartment or home his firm constructed], bought this block when it was worth little, has recently sold off a number of his properties for un-godly amounts, and yet still insists on increasing the price anytime a deal gets close.

If nothing else, Wendell Reugh and the Rookery debacle represents our culture's preference for greener pastures, the next best thing, fad, trend, etc.  For quite a number of years downtown was yesterday's news.  Until recently, opportunity was anywhere but downtown, and as such we've collectively abandoned them; "demolition by neglect" as someone once put it.  It also reflects a populace that is either too preoccupied or overly passive to care about such things.  We're not quite sure which, but take your pick.

So, in an odd kind of way, are we the ones responsible for the Rookery Block's [or the next building in our core that comes crashing down] tragic ending?  Maybe.  It's hard to say.  But think about the Rookery Block the next time you drive through the Hillyards, or the East Centrals of our City.  These places have been declining for years, and are at the same place downtown was fifteen years ago.  So what are we going to do about it?

Cap That Rascal...

Ahhh, Interstate 90.  The transportation juggernaut sliced its way through Spokane in the late 1950's and early 1960's, and in the process changed forever the fabric of one of Spokane's largest neighborhoods...East Central.    East Central spans from Division Street to Havana Street, and roughly Trent Avenue to the north and 14th Avenue to the south.  The spatial impact I-90 had on East Central was one of effectively severing the large residential population to the south from its main commercial and employment district of Sprague Avenue to the north.

I-90 is here to stay.  Even with gas prices hovering around $2.75/gallon it will change significantly over the next 10-15 years as the North/South Corridor comes online.  Early plans call for widening the footprint 1 1/2 blocks on both sides of the right-of-way east towards Hamilton to accommodate high-speed couplets.  While this might appear to be another nail in the coffin for East Central, we at MetroSpokane see it as a diamond in the proverbial rough.  Consider these two words: Freeway Cap.

A draft plan [p. 17] for East Central released earlier this year points out an idea for incorporating a freeway cap near Liberty Park along Pittsburg St. that would serve to connect again the commercial and residential sides of the neighborhood.  To some, it may seem nothing more than a pipe dream, but in Columbus, Ohio they've actually implemented it...and in a big way.  The City Comforts Blog first brought this to many people's attention in 2003.  In 2000, Portland, OR launched an effort to study the feasibility of placing a cap over I-405 [here-final study].  In fact, in as late as 2001 they had considered an I-405 freeway cap as a possible location for a Major League Baseball Stadium [here].

Big deal. The cap is just an overpass with room for commercial and retail on either side.  Think again.  A cap on parts of I-90 would go beyond physical connectivity, this is place-making at its best, and that's the first reason we like the idea.  Instead of a bland overpass or a chasm, we've a place for people, commerce, and activity.  The second reason we like the concept is that it would provide buildable land near the urban core where none previously existed.  This may not be a problem now, but in ten to twenty years it may.  And on a larger level, the effort to accomplish this in Spokane could be a sign that reclaiming some of the most damaged and depressed areas of our city isn't unachieveable.

Imagine for a second how a cap at Sherman St., Scott St. and Arthur St. at I-90 to go along with one or two east of Hamilton St. over I-90 could change East Central for the better.

As for HILLYARD! DO NOT let this opportunity pass you by...

Other links on the Columbus I-670 Cap

• MSI - I-670 Design Mitigation Plan
• Columbus Business Journal - Article
• Beyond Brilliance - article
• City Comforts - the blog...where it was first discussed over 2 years ago! 

Jefferson Auto Lofts..

A stroll along west 1st Avenue is proof that Spokane is evolving.  Most of the 'undesirable' activities have long since migrated elsewhere, and streetlife of a more positive sort is gaining a foothold.  Last month, MetroSpokane was given an early look into the latest condo development coming online downtown. 

The Jefferson Auto Lofts, by RenCorp LLC, is a former warehouse being converted into an eight-unit residential development.  The project abuts the southern side of the BNSF viaduct on Jefferson Street and it promises to bring some presence to an area that desperately needs it.  While the area has a good share of diverse rental housing, the 'owned' category of residential is sorely lacking (aside from the Riverside Condominiums and the Blue Chip lofts, there isn't much else).

A healthy urban neighborhood needs a mix of both to provide the stability and the eyes to 'observe' the activity taking place in and around.  It's the 'eyes' on the neighborhood that make urban neighborhoods safe.  More eyes will hopefully mean more smaller businesses that will provide services for the residents and employees inhabiting these places.  Jane Jacobs said as much nearly 50 years ago in "The Death and Life of Great American Cities." 

RenCorp seems to understand this concept as the Auto Lofts development also includes office space for commercial clients such as The Better Business Bureau.  Earlier this year they retrofitted the former Luminaria building a block to the east which is now home to a coffee shop and by the first part of next year a few apartments.  While small in number, holistic developments like these are what is bringing the life back into a long neglected part of downtown.

For the latecomers, sorry to say that all eight units in the Jefferson Auto Lofts have long since been sold.