Spokane-based 4 Degrees Real Estate co-founder Jordan Tampien and his wife, Whitney, have purchased a two-story building on the west end of downtown, and they plan to convert the second floor into Airbnb-style short-term lodging space for visiting corporate executives, says Jordan Tampien.

The Tampiens bought the building at 1229 W. First for $1.5 million from CGL Properties LLC, of Spokane.

The renovation project is expected to cost $1 million. Construction is expected to start fall 2019 and be completed around spring 2020, Tampien says.

As planned, the second floor’s rental space will include seven or eight furnished living suites that companies can reserve for out-of-town business executives or employees, he says.

Those spaces likely will consist of three two-bedroom units and four or five one-bedroom units, although the project could include loft spaces as well, says Tampien.

“We thought it’d be a cool inclusion to have some custom, short-term rental stuff that could play off (the other developments) in the area,” he says.

Tampien says the building was in good shape when he purchased it.

“It doesn’t require a ton of extra work,” he says.

The first floor of the 15,200-square-foot building is occupied by collection agency Bonded Adjustment Co., which will remain in the building as a tenant, says Tampien. Currently, the former owner of the building occupies the second floor. 

The building is at the southeast corner of First Avenue and Adams Street, which is less than a block east of the former Watts Automotive & Driveline Service building, at 1312 W. First. An ownership group consisting of Tampien, his brother Joel, and a second pair of brothers, Matt and Ryan Goodwin, plan to transform that building into a restaurant and brewery. Construction there is underway and is expected to be completed next June.