Washington Trust Bank, which owns the former Executive Court building at 501 W. First downtown, plans to remove the second through fifth stories of the five-story structure, says Katy Wagnon, spokeswoman for the Spokane-based bank.

Construction begins on Monday, March 5, at the building, which is also known as the former Ridpath Annex, but the major demolition work will start at a later date, Wagnon says. The project will take about five months, and a roof will be added to the remaining portion of the building.

The demolition project will remove 54,000 square feet of current floor space, the demolition permit application indicates, leaving about 23,000 square feet of first-floor space. 

Washington Trust Bank purchased the building for $2.6 million from investor Scott Taylor with plans to convert the structure into office space to accommodate the bank’s growth. 

The demolition application lists Bouten Construction Co., of Spokane, as the general contractor on the project, but no architect is specified.

The 1960s-era building formerly operated as part of the Ridpath Hotel complex. The annex is on the south side of west First Avenue, across from the former hotel tower. The structures are connected by a skywalk over First Avenue.

Separately, developer Ron Wells, majority owner of Ridpath Hotel, is converting the long-vacated Ridpath into a residential and commercial complex.

Last year, the Journal reported building permits valued at $7.7 million issued for hotel renovations. The Ridpath Club Apartments LLC redevelopment project will convert former hotel rooms in 206 apartment units on the second through 11th floors of the 13-story Ridpath Tower, at 515 W. Sprague, and in the attached four-story east annex also known as the “Y” building, at the southwest corner of First Avenue and Stevens Street. The project includes 147 micro and studio apartments with living space ranging from about 250 square feet to 500 square feet. The rest of the apartments will be one-bedroom units with up to 1,000 square feet of living space. 

Ridpath Club Apartments’ website says it expects the first apartments to be ready for tenants on April 13.