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Owners hopeful they can rebuild

Staff reports
July 26, 2008

The interior of Churchill's Steakhouse appears ready for the dinner crowd today a day after a fire that gutted the Joel building, but the restaurant was heavily damaged by thousands of gallons of water poured in to halt the fire in the other half of the building. (July 25, 2008) (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review) Links Slideshows: Joel building fire | The aftermath | Reader submissions Video: Scene of the fire Audio: Spokesman radio’s 10:30 a.m. report Graphic: Building's construction slowed fire's spread Document: Spokane Fire Department's list of July fires E-mail your pictures: breakingnews@spokesman.com

Firefighters will baby-sit the Joel building in downtown Spokane all weekend in preparation for investigators to start digging into the cause of the three-alarm fire that broke out Thursday, destroying or severely damaging businesses and residential condominiums.

Spokane Fire Marshal Lisa Jones said she sees no reason to tear down the building as its structural integrity appears to be holding. However, fire inspectors still hadn't entered the most damaged portions of the building as of Friday evening because of structural hazards, said Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer.

"We're still weighing those risks and seeing what we can do," he said.

Business owners hoping to rebuild were awaiting additional information from insurance carriers.

"They think we can rebuild," Churchill's Steakhouse owner Bill Alles said Friday, after a meeting with his insurance adjuster. "They know we have severe problems."

Alles said Friday he could better envision rebuilding, despite harboring strong doubts on Thursday. He's still waiting for another adjuster, due to arrive Monday, to collectively determine how to move forward, he said. Alles leads an investment group of 27 people in the high-end steakhouse.

"I've got blood, sweat and tears into my place. It would be nice to be able to do it," he said.

Although the chandelier still hung in the entryway and tables were still set with fine linens and china, water dripped constantly, the floors were soaked and part of the ceiling had collapsed in the kitchen.

Developers of 16 residential condominiums on the building's second and third floors also were awaiting the arrival of their insurance carrier and three structural engineers on Monday, said developer Ron Wells.

"We're hoping they'll say, 'You can rebuild it,' " said Wells, who is in partnership with his wife, Julie, Bill Main Jr., Sarah Leverett-Main, and Brian and Kim Main on the condominium project, called The Lofts at Joel. "We're all just hopeful we can build it back."

That's also the desire of at least one prospective condominium owner who was due to close on a unit Aug. 1. Peter and Nancy Steele have their Spokane Valley home on the market in anticipation of moving downtown to their new loft.

"We're just really hoping they don't bag the project now," Nancy Steele said. If the building can be rebuilt, the Steeles plan to hang in there and purchase their 1,100-square-foot unit when it's ready, they said. They plan to add 500 square feet on the roof, along with a rooftop garden and patio.

"It'll be six months before they get back to this stage," Peter Steele said, anticipating a springtime move-in if all goes according to plan.

Post Street remained closed Friday between First and Second avenues, but Wall Street had reopened. Fencing was to be put up before nightfall, and guards were scheduled to patrol the site, Schaeffer said.

The most extensively damaged part of the building, Dorian Studio, on the northwest side, appeared a burned-out shell. A note on the company Web site said school photographs would occur as scheduled, but at least one other photography studio in Spokane was handling a couple of appointments previously held by Dorian.

"One called yesterday and said they had an appointment yesterday," Myron Bursell, owner of Green Gables Photography, said of the family who requested senior photographs of their daughter. "They were going out of town. They said we just want it done. We said, 'OK, of course.' "

However, Bursell, who said he has known and worked with Dorian owner Joe Mark and his son John for years, said he went to the fire scene and offered the Marks use of all the equipment he could spare. He said the studio has an impeccable reputation and knows they would do the same for him. "He was speechless. He said, 'Just give me your card in case I need it,' " Bursell said. "It'll hurt them financially for a while, but they have a reputation to where they'll bounce back."

Dorian's Spokane location serves as headquarters for Dorian operations throughout the western United States, including markets in Seattle, Kennewick, Portland, Boise, Las Vegas and Phoenix, Ariz., according to court documents from a recent lawsuit. Dorian's photo lab in Spokane also processed orders from branch studios, the documents said.

"It's going to mess things up for a while. I feel for them," said Bursell, who's been in the photography business in Spokane for 32 years. "I'm hoping photographers step up and help them out if they need it."

In Churchill's lower-level private dining room, a table was still set for 20 people Friday afternoon, ready for the Abbott Laboratories meeting that never arrived Thursday, said restaurant manager Lennie Rehard.

Crystal water glasses sat adjacent to bone china settings topped with European linens. Off to the side, $4,000 leather chairs sat ready for visitors to relax with a cognac after dinner. An old-fashioned telephone sat atop a dark-wood cabinet, ready for additional orders to be phoned in to the manager.

"It was scheduled for 6 o'clock yesterday," Rehard said Friday afternoon. "It was all set and ready to go."

Rehard said he was preparing to call nine other private parties who had scheduled events in the coming weeks. "We were just starting to do Christmas," he said. "We had others booked in August, September and October."

Both Rehard and Alles said they were working their restaurant contacts trying to find jobs for their 30 employees.

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