Editor's note: Above video was published in July 2019
SPOKANE, Wash. — The historic Rose Apartments building in east central Spokane have been picked up and moved to make way for the North Spokane Corridor.
The two-story brick building currently located at 1726 E. Third Avenue will be relocated just around the corner to Fourth Avenue. It houses 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,” said Tim Sigler, Director of the City’s Community Housing and Human Services (CHHS) Department. “We were excited to be able to support the community with this creative solution.”
The move comes after a project to save the building was organized in 2019 by its owner, the East Central Community Organization. CHHS then provided grant funding to help the organization plan and permit the move.
The City of Spokane will also reimburse the costs for new water and sewer connections through its Urban Utility Installation program.
The move itself 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, built in 1910, 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. 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.