Guardian Mortgage plans to open an office in the Wonder Building, its second Spokane location here in three years, says the company’s Spokane-based regional manager Jay Affleck. 

The company has leased about 3,000 square feet of office space on the second floor of the recently redeveloped Wonder Building, located on the periphery of downtown at 835 N. Post, Affleck says.

Heather Corlett, Dallas-based senior mortgage marketing manager at Guardian Mortgage, says Guardian Mortgage expects to double its staff by hiring 18 additional employees, bringing its total number of employees here to 36.

Affleck says Guardian expects continued growth in the Spokane market, leading to an increased need for additional office space.  

“We’re looking to expand our footprint by opening a second Spokane mortgage branch,” he says. “We’re growing from the standpoint of adding loan originators and support staff. We need seats to put bodies in.”

Plano, Texas-based Sunflower Bank National Association, which does business as Guardian Mortgage, established its first Spokane office at 239 W. Main, downtown, in 2018.

Corlett says the Main Avenue office has reached capacity. The company chose to locate its second office in the Wonder Building because of the building’s history and the revitalization occurring in the North Bank area, she says.

As previously reported by the Journal, the Wonder Building redevelopment began in 2018, led by Denver-area developer Peter Mounsey. The 112-year-old building now has commercial spaces on the ground floor, in addition to about 100,000 square feet of office space.

Affleck says the amenities of the Wonder Building, including a market on the building’s first floor and an attached parking garage, were major draws.

“We like the convenience of downtown without being in the downtown corridor,” Affleck says.

Corlett says Guardian Mortgage will begin moving loan origination, origination support, and mortgage operations employees into the space in early summer, as soon as tenant improvements are completed.

Affleck says that 2020 was an anomaly for the mortgage industry in terms of the high volume of mortgages the industry processed. He says low mortgage rates contributed to that. 

Guardian Mortgage has been successful in the Spokane market, Affleck contends, and he expects the company will continue to increase its business here.

“With the amount of people we’re getting out there and generating business, we expect our market share to continue to grow,” Affleck says.