Kirstin Davis, 509.625.7773
Monday, June 15, 2020 at 11:40 a.m.
The historic Rose Apartments building will be moved to a new location on Tuesday, June 16, preserving affordable rental housing while making way for the North Spokane Corridor. Currently located in East Central Spokane at 1726 E. Third Ave., the two-story brick structure will be moved around the corner to Fourth Avenue. Built in 1910, the Colonial Revival style building contains eight affordable rental units.
“Our community needs more affordable housing, so it just makes sense to preserve these units in this one-of-a-kind building,” says Tim Sigler, Director of the City’s Community Housing and Human Services Department that helped make the building move possible. “We were excited to be able to support the community with this creative solution.”
The project to save the building was organized by its owner, the East Central Community Organization. CHHS, meanwhile, provided grant funding to help the organization plan and permit the building move. The City also will reimburse the costs for new water and sewer connections utilizing its Urban Utility Installation Program. The actual move is being paid for with proceeds from the sale of the building to the Washington State Department of Transportation, which purchased it because it is in the path of the North Spokane Corridor project.
The Rose Apartments became home to renovated affordable housing units more than 10 years ago. In July 2009, the City received a federal stimulus Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant to assist neighborhoods most impacted by abandoned and foreclosed properties. Back then, the East Central Community Organization submitted a successful application to the City to purchase and restore the foreclosed, vacant, and dilapidated Rose Apartments building. The City then purchased the building at foreclosure sale, placed the building on the Spokane Historic Register, and entered into agreements with East Central Community Organization for property ownership and restoration.
Watch the CityCable 5 video about this project!
