Firm gravitates to shift toward residential work

Joshua Hissong, co-founder and creative director of Hissong Design Group PLLC, uses quotes on both the inside and outside of his firm.

| Tina Sulzle

Hissong Design Group PLLC has firmly planted its roots in downtown Spokane and found its comfort zone.

“We’re at the point where we don’t want to grow anymore,” says co-founder and creative director Joshua Hissong. “We are just at that perfect point.”

Founded in 2010 by Hissong and Armando Hurtado, the architecture and design firm specializes in both commercial and residential projects. Its large, diversified portfolio includes high-end residential properties, restaurants, and large-scale commercial developments.

The design group, which does business as HDG Architecture, operates out of a 10,000-square-foot building at 230 S. Washington downtown. The firm purchased the property in 2016 for $235,000 and occupies about 3,900 square feet of the space. The remainder is leased or donated to other organizations.

Hissong says HDG currently employs 13 staff members.

In addition to architectural services, HDG recently partnered with Stroom Interiors, led by interior designer Aubrey Plaisance, which also operates within the HDG headquarters.

Currently, HDG is managing three commercial projects in Post Falls, including Nonna, a 50,000-square-foot mixed-use building located at 102 E. Fourth, Rooted Social House, a restaurant and coffee house located at 310 N. Spokane, and the recent design completion of a future mixed-use campus.

In 2023, HDG designed the flagship location for Konala LLC, a Post Falls restaurant chain founded by Trace and Jammie Miller.

HDG is currently working on multiple high-end residential properties, including four homes at Gozzer Ranch Golf and Lake Club, each averaging between $8 million and $10 million, two residences at The Club at Black Rock, and a $33 million home located on the south shore of Lake Pend Oreille, near Sandpoint.

Other notable projects over the years include popular spots in Spokane, such as a Thomas Hammer Coffee restaurant, on Spokane's South Hill, and Nectar Wine & Beer, in the Kendall Yards neighborhood. In Coeur d'Alene, key projects involve the Innovation Den office building and the Terraza Waterfront by De Leon’s restaurant.

Pandemic shift

Although HDG has always specialized in both commercial and residential projects, Hissong notes a shift in focus since the pandemic.

“Since 2020, we’ve kind of pivoted from commercial to high-end residential,” Hissong says. “We’re currently running at 75% high-end residential.”

Now licensed in 11 states, HDG projects span from Washington state to New Hampshire.

“We have projects in Oregon, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, and Washington,” says Hissong.

Although HDG has scaled back in operations, including the sale of its stake in a graphic design company, Hissong says its annual revenue has stayed steady at $2 million.

He says the company works on between 40 and 80 projects per year, depending on complexity and size.

Hissong, who resides in downtown Spokane, says he’s hopeful about a downtown resurgence, especially through housing development.

"We're seeing a lot of studies being done on adaptive reuse of these old office buildings into apartments or condos," Hissong says. "And just housing in general."

With many companies relocating to Liberty Lake, Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene, and Airway Heights, Hissong says he’s committed to staying in the core.

“We have friends that own buildings that are at 45% (vacant),” Hissong says. “(COVID) was kind of the office exodus.”

Hissong and the team at HDG were recently featured in multiple national publications. One project, a remodel of a mid-century South Hill home originally designed by Moritz Kundig, co-founder of Spokane-based NAC Architecture, was featured in Sunset Magazine in June 2024 and previously in Dwell in 2019.

“A couple of times I’ve bought a house, renovated it, got it into a magazine, and then sell it,” Hissong says.

Hissong, who travels four to five times per year, says he finds inspiration through travel and exploration.

“Traveling is a great way to stay inspired,” he says. “It’s not just the buildings you get to see, but the branding, and the way people use branding on the outside of a building.”

Since purchasing the building on south Washington, HDG has invested $600,000 in renovations, transforming it into a vibrant, creative workspace. A large rotating quote is painted on its south-facing wall.

The first quote read, “If not now, when?” which also became the name of Hissong’s podcast. The current quote is “Be curious, not judgmental,” a line Hissong heard on an episode of Ted Lasso.

“It’s funny how something written 100 to 200 years ago, depending on the writer, is still relevant today, even though our society has changed so much,” Hissong says. “Writing is a lot like architecture, where once you build it, it can last forever, if it’s worth lasting.”

Every year, HDG takes its team on a fully paid company trip. Employees are not allowed to work during this time, and it does not count against vacation days. The company has traveled to Europe eight times and to Mexico City once.

“They get paid the whole time and they can’t work,” Hissong says. “They’re not allowed to work, and it doesn’t count against their vacation."

The benefits are real, he says.

“It’s added to our camaraderie,” Hissong adds. “You can sit next to somebody for six years in a cubicle and never really get to know them. But wander around Barcelona for eight hours with somebody and you get their life story.”