Spokane’s downtown area, though revitalizing in many ways, still has enough pockets of underused and deteriorating buildings that it’s concerning when larger, landmark buildings also sit mostly vacant for extended periods.

That’s why it’s so encouraging to hear that aggressive plans are underway to bring new life, particularly including residential units, to the 10-story Macy’s building and the venerable seven-story Chronicle Building, and quickly.

Centennial Properties Inc., the Spokane-based company that is part owner of the River Park Square downtown shopping mall, offered some good news last week when it announced that it has agreed to buy the Macy’s building, at the northeast corner of Main Avenue and Wall Street.

Centennial said it envisions an enhancement of the downtown retail district on the first and second floors of the building, which is just east of River Park Square, and a mix of office and residential space on the building’s upper floors. Macy’s closed its downtown store and vacated the building in March. 

Centennial is a subsidiary of Cowles Co., which also owns the Journal. It said it will spend the next few weeks studying various aspects of the building and developing plans for renovation. As Betsy Cowles, president of Centennial Real Estate Investments, noted in a press release, the purchase provides Centennial a rare opportunity to transform and reinvigorate a central city block, and she made clear that the company plans to act quickly so the building doesn’t sit empty for long. That seems like a smart move, since central-core decay—as seen around the former Ridpath Hotel complex—can be infectious.

Macy’s closure of its store was a disappointing loss to the retail offerings downtown, but it will be exciting to see the forward-focused mix of uses—including some new retail tenants on the lower floors—that will bring rejuvenating energy to that big structure.

Meanwhile, in the 88-year-old Chronicle Building, at the northeast corner of Sprague Avenue and Monroe Street, Centennial simultaneously plans to convert four mostly vacant floors into apartments and hopes to have them all completed and ready for occupancy by February.

 That project represents a significant departure for a structure that for decades housed the Spokane Daily Chronicle and historically has been mostly an office building. However, it reflects the changing needs and complexion of the downtown area.

That project should bring more activity to a resurgent arts district on the west side of downtown, while helping to address what a recent Downtown Spokane Partnership study found to be a significant lack of housing inventory downtown. 

Mark Richard, DSP president, says he expects the projects to add nicely to a host of other improvements occurring in the downtown area, and adds, “Positive investments will breed other positive investments.”

Time will tell how quickly prospective tenants respond to the improvements at the two high-visibility buildings, but moving ahead with the projects quickly will be a great first step.