Full Steam Ahead
Steam Plant Square's Historic Renovation
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September/October 1998
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Steaming Back to Life
Washington Water Power continues to provide excellent examples of successful projects when partnering with the community, not the least of which includes the company's efforts to restore downtown Spokane's historic Central Steam Plant.
"We've teamed up with Wells and Company, local historic preservation specialists, to renovate the idles Steam Plant property into an exciting
This is indeed a turn-around story. It's one with many nuances including public concerns regarding the future of Spokane's urban center, and the once-rushing steam factory near the heart of downtown. How's it been going so far?
"Well a lot has to happen before you can revive a sleeping giant."
From Mothballs to Showcase
Steam Plant Square, a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) was formed in 1996. The managing partners knew that historic preservation was the first order of business. Getting the plant listed on to the necessary historical registries took considerable time and effort. Almost immediately, too, the project's scope expanded. What began as a renovation of a single Washington Water Power landmark grew to include two additional structures, the Seehorn and Courtyard buildings. All three buildings combine to create one contiguous property totaling more than 80,000 square feet of unique office, retail and dining space. Clearly, the breadth and depth of this project required the involvement of qualified architectural and rehabilitation experts.
Wells and Company was selected as the partner in this venture because of their noted expertise in historic renovation and architecture and their proven track record - 17 successful historic renovations - the most in the Pacific Northwest by any developer.
Partnering with Wells and Company has ensured critical success on such bottom-line issues as the earning of significant tax credits upon the project's successful completion," Pearman-Gillman said.
The regulations for historic renovations are quite meticulous. It's imperative all work be done in strict compliance with rules of the National Parks Service, witch oversees historic preservation across the nation.
Considerable effort went into working through the detailed plans in order to design a workable project while painstakingly maintaining as much history and equipment as possible. But the efforts paid off - all critical regulatory hurdles were cleared and both the Central Steam Plant and Seehorn buildings have been approved as certified historic rehabilitations.
History: A Tale of Three Buildings
The Central Steam Plant building, with its 225-foot-high, towering, twin stacks, is a prominent and readily identifiable Spokane landmark. Its most outstanding features - the characteristic smokestacks and high -arched windows - have graced the Spokane skyline for more than 80 years. These proud beacons will remain on the "cityscape," preserved in all their historical grandeur. But it's what's inside the place beneath the stacks that really counts. High-profile landmarks aside, the interior renovations make this a promising commercial site.
By virtue of very creative architectural design and carefully selected demolition, the old Steam Plant is being transformed from a dirty, drab industrial behemoth into a bright, skylight architectural showcase-no longer mothballed, but soon-to-be alive with people and commerce. Everything removed was done with a specific purpose, thereby maintaining the building's early twentieth-century, power plant ambiance. The new Central Steam Plant building is being transformed into an inviting and fascinating museum of sorts. There, on display, many of the old plant's impressive guts and once state-of-the-art operations will remain, incorporated aesthetically into the functional, modern uses of the architecture. There will be no mistake that a visitor to Steam Plant Square is stepping into a living part of Washington Water Power's and Spokane's past.
The Central Steam Plant has been officially nominated to, and is now listed on, the National Register of Historic Places, the Washington Register of Historic Places and the Spokane Register of Historic Places. In what was at one time the manufacturing-warehouse district of downtown Spokane, the Central Steam Plant still sits among buildings dating from that era. In fact, the great fire of 1889 started only 100 feet from where Steam Plant Square now sits. Built in 1916, the Central Steam Plant is steel-reinforced concrete and brick, 140 feet long, 83 feet wide and approximately three stories tall with a full basement.
The Courtyard building connects the Steam Plant and Seehorn buildings in such a way that it becomes one seamless space unifying the buildings as Steam Plant Square. With the addition of this building along with the Seehorn building, the project went from 34,000 square feet to 80,000 sq. ft., thus creating a grander undertaking in the public's perception. The Courtyard building will house 10,000 square feet of parking and 10,400 square feet of Class A office space, with an exterior rooftop courtyard.
The Seehorn building is an 1890's warehouse/office building, which is most significant to this project because it gives the land-locked Steam Plant a front door presence on busy Lincoln Street - a main off-ramp from I-90 into downtown Spokane that will be the main thoroughfare to the new River Park Square project. The interior of the Seehorn Building has been opened to facilitate a natural pedestrian flow-through access into the main mall space of Steam Plant Square.
An Historic Future
Renovation of the project will conclude in early 1999, including the interior design elements, tenant improvements and final landscaping. The project timeline calls for grand opening in the spring of 1999 with a variety of activities being planned once most tenants are in and can participate in the festivities. During September, Steam Plant Square hosted five "Sneak Preview" events at the Square to create excitement about the project with target tenants. Events included featuring the smart building with the Inland NW Technet, an event with Governor Locke, The Washington Trust Preservation Summit, Washington Trust Historic Preservation Conference & the Davenport Arts District Silent Auction and Spokane Neighborhood Action Program's sponsor appreciation dinner.
Solicitation for tenants continues. An array of food and beverage, office, and retail tenants have expressed an interest in leasing space, however, leasing of spaces in the Steam Plant building will remain on hold until a main restaurant tenant is signed. The space in the Steam Plant is so unique that the footprint(s) for the one or two main tenants must be determined before slicing the space up for smaller tenants.
Another key to the success of this project centers on establishing parking for tenants and guests in addition to the parking that has been built into the Courtyard building.
"We anticipate working into 1999 to establish a Local Improvement District (L.I.D.) with the City of Spokane and neighbors to build a parking structure for the neighborhood," said Pearman-Gillman. This parking facility would likely be constructed on the undeveloped property between the Rodeway Inn and Steam Plant. Although these plans are still in the formative stages of development, construction is not anticipated until after the current project is near completion.
The vision for Steam Plant Square is to meld two worlds, one old, historical, reminiscent - the other new, refreshing, and cutting edge. Tenants and visitors alike will be immersed in the surroundings of the late Industrial Revolution, yet also afforded an array of very contemporary conveniences. Although two of the three buildings are g registered historical landmarks, the complex will contain some of the hottest technology, trendiest retail offerings, and most user-friendly office design elements now available anywhere. Steam Plant Square promises to be a place where businesses and clients can come together to experience one of the most leading edge urban work environments in the Pacific Northwest. By working closely with WWP Fiber and other vendors, Steam Plant Square has incorporated the latest fiber and high-technology services into the building plans. There is a direct fiber link from Steam Plant Square to the U.S. Bank building, Spokane's central data hub to the world, which ensures the newest and fastest communications capabilities are available at the onset.
Restoration is Just the Beginning
Washington Water Power operated the Central Steam Plant from 1919 to 1986, serving most of downtown Spokane with steam for heating and manufacturing purposes. The plant was closed because the life expectancy of the underground piping system and mains had been reached and the excessive cost of repairing broken steam lines made the plant no longer economically feasible to operate. This restoration and renovation gives the old plant a new lease on life and a chance to return to productivity.
A review of newspaper, television and radio stories since the project began paints a very upbeat picture of the Steam Plant Square development. The project has been featured in many stories and called out as one of the top three "happenings" moving downtown Spokane toward revitalization, ranked with the $100 million dollar River Park Square project. Steam Plant Square will soon be open, and the company's goal of turning an idled, unproductive property into a catalyst for revitalizing downtown. Spokane and the Davenport Arts District will be surging Full Steam Ahead!
More information about the Steam Plant Square project may be obtained from Pearman-Gillman, Ext. 4826, or Annette Long, Ext. 8729.
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