Spokane

Downtown vitality gets a boost
Speaker lays out ingredients to create a strong city core
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Rob McDonald
Staff writer

The first time Donovan Rypkema visited Spokane 15 years ago, he met with a group of people trying to save the Davenport Hotel.

On Friday, the expert on downtown revitalization was back, speaking inside the newly renovated landmark about the future of the city's core.

Rypkema's remarks drew about 100 people on the final day of Gov. Gary Locke's statewide economic development summit, which started Thursday at the WestCoast Ridpath Hotel.

Rypkema owns a Washington, D.C.-based firm called Place Economics, which is recognized as a leader in the economics of preserving historic structures.

The public erroneously believes, Rypkema said, that the Davenport will boost business for all of downtown Spokane. But, in fact, the hotel is back in business because the downtown that surrounds it has improved.

"You're smoking opium if you think one big thing is the fix," Rypkema said bluntly. The hotel is the result of incremental improvements to the entire business core, he said.

Mike Edwards, executive director of the Downtown Spokane Partnership, attended Rypkema's session and said he agreed.

"There's no silver bullet. That's what people are looking for," Edwards said. More than one project has contributed to the vitality of downtown, said Edwards, including River Park Square and the convention center expansion plans.

Edwards said he was most struck by the notion that it's fiscally wise to support downtown development. Downtowns are good places to develop, Rypkema asserted, because the infrastructure has been built up over generations. Starting from scratch elsewhere is wasteful, Rypkema said.

"Why rebuild a downtown when you have a downtown that you can refine," Edwards added after the session.

During his presentation, Rypkema talked about key elements that must be in place for a downtown to thrive. Among them:

•Downtown building managers who work as partners with tenants rather than as traditional landlords.

•Landlords who seek out high-end tenants rather than low-income residents.

•Building codes and zoning regulations that don't hamper development.

•Nontraditional housing options for the 3 percent of the population that wants something different.

•Downtowns that are free of graffiti, iron bars and gates, which send the message an area isn't safe.

Rypkema argued Friday that most buildings erected after 1950 lack character. He said he has nothing against suburban shopping centers and malls, but people don't develop ownership of the malls where they shop.

"The sole purpose of shopping centers is to sell stuff," Rypkema said. "The downtown is viewed as ours."

In a healthy downtown, people don't just shop -- they gather, he said.

Another critical component is housing. Rypkema said a person who works downtown spends between $2,500 to $3,500 a year on downtown shops, restaurants and services. But someone who lives downtown spends about three times that amount.

Spokane developer Rob Brewster, whose Montvale Hotel project will include upscale downtown apartments, said many of his development ideas were influenced by the time he spent in Washington, D.C.

Brewster, who was turned away from the event due to lack of space, also applauded Rypkema's belief that mixed-use buildings are important.

It's much more common to find mixed-used residences in Europe, said Edwards. Lenders and city and fire departments in this country aren't as accustomed to seeing buildings that house retail, office and residential space, said Edwards.

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