Wells & Co., of Spokane, has begun some preliminary work on the former Fairmont Apartments building in downtown Spokane and expects to get its $7 million renovation project there into full swing within two months, Spokane developer and architect Ron Wells says.


Rehabilitation of the six-story, 84,000-square-foot structure, which was gutted in July of 1999 by a fire that destroyed the former Mars Hotel & Casino building directly to the east, is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2002. As envisioned, the structure will include retail space on the ground floor and office space on the five upper floors.


Wells & Co. has designed the renovation and will act as its own general contractor. Wells says the company currently is demolishing what few interior walls remain in the old Fairmont and is doing some other preparatory work. It hasnt obtained a building permit for the remodeling work yet, but hopes to receive it soon, he says.


The building will be renamed the Morgan Block, which was its name when it opened in 1909 as a single-room occupancy hotel, says Wells, who owns Wells & Co. with his wife, Julie. Wells & Co. will work to restore the buildings north and south exterior faces, which front on Riverside and Sprague avenues, respectively, to resemble closely the way they looked in the early 1900s. Wells says the company is seeking to have the structure designated as a historic building, which would allow it to take advantage of tax incentives for historic preservation. He says the company has gone through a similar procedure for more than 20 other structures in the Spokane area.


While the buildings exterior will have a historic look, its interior will include all new systems and the latest technologies for voice and data communications.


Christopher Batten, Wells & Co.s property manager, says, We have a unique opportunity. Were starting from scratch on the interior, which will allow the company to design space to accommodate a variety of uses, from dot-coms to well-established law firms.


Wells says the company still is considering developing a two-level, 55-space parking garage on the former Mars site, which Wells & Co. bought at a Spokane County sheriffs auction last July.


The market will determine how desirable that extra parking will be, Wells says, adding that theres a lot of surface parking south and east of the building that could accommodate people who work there.


When Wells & Co. bought the old Mars site, Wells said the company also was considering developing two or three floors of office space above the parking levels that would adjoin the Morgan Block. Wells says the company hasnt ruled out that part of the project, but the additional floors of office space wouldnt be built unless a prospective tenant needed a larger floor size.


Wells bought the Fairmont last summer from Rainier Properties Inc., a Seattle-based sister company of Diamond Parking Inc. Rainier Properties originally planned to renovate the structure as a low-income apartment buildingit had 95 apartment units prior to the firebut later dropped those plans, saying the project would be too expensive. It then said it planned to level the structure and put in a parking lot. Before that could happen, though, Wells stepped forward and offered to buy the property.


While Wells & Co. is working to get a permit for the Fairmont, a limited partnership it formed with Avista Development Inc., of Spokane, received a permit last week to start work on a $4.6 million renovation project at the former Rodeway Inn City Center, at the southeast corner of First Avenue and Lincoln Street. The former hotel will be converted into retail and office space.