Ridpath Hotel

Ridpath Hotel

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Saturday, August 13, 2011. For a good piece on Greg Jeffreys and the Ridpath properties and problems -- problems for the various owners and the City of Spokane --- see Shawn Vestal, Ridpath Figure Likes to Follow His Own Rules, Spokesman Review.

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The key to elimination of the blight of the defunct Ridpath Hotel is single title to all of the Ridpath Hotel assets -- on both sides of 300 block of 1st Ave. The single ownerhship could be acheived if the city would acquire the properties.

Next, the blight could be eliminated by removal of useless and unrepairable buildings and various sales of properties or sale of the entire property to single developer.

A Ridpath Hotel Public Development Authority

There is something that would be a step in solving the problem(s) of the Ridpath Hotel. The City of Spokane could create a public development authority (PDA) — the “Ridpath Hotel Public Development Authority.” The city could then condemn the property (all of the property) and put it in the hands of the PDA.

The PDA could then plan for the property . It could be demolished and used for another purpose. Or, it could creatively developed into a hotel, restaurant, etc. or other mixed use.

The PDA would be the vehicle for either approach or another approach. It would have a transitional role. The Pike Place Market in Seattle is a public development authority. Harbor View Hospital in Seattle is a public development authority.

The cost of the condemnation would be paid by the revenue generated from sale or lease of the Ridpath properties by the PDA.

This PDA idea is not new. When I was on the Spokane City Council (2000 - 2003) I proposed legislation to create and use a PDA to deal with then on-going demise of the Davenport Hotel. Shortly after the idea became known and was advancing in the legislative process, the owners of the Davenport sold it to Walt and Karen Worthy — and that certainly was not the end of the story.

The city has the resources to deal with the problem of the Ridpath Hotel. The blight can be dealt with by people who have foresight, courage and energy. As a matter of practical fact, given what has been done to split the ownership of the hotel, the PDA may be the only practical solution, maybe even the only real solution.