Developer Mike Craven says he recently bought the Genesee Block building at 819 W. Riverside in downtown Spokane and plans to rehabilitate the two-story, 8,400-square-foot structure, but hasn’t finalized any details for the renovation.

Craven says he formed Genesee Block LLC for the sole purpose of owning and rehabilitating the 123-year-old structure, and would like to begin renovating the building later this year. Craven Co., of which Craven is the principal owner, is the manager of Genesee Block LLC. Craven recently changed the company’s name to Craven Co., from Regulus Properties, he says.

Craven says he envisions the upper level being dedicated to residential rental properties and retail space on the lower level.

Craven also developed the $2 million Physical Therapy Associates PS building at Southeast Boulevard and 27th Avenue on the South Hill. Physical Therapy Associates hired Craven as a fee developer, which put him in charge of hiring the project’s architect and general contractor, he says.

He is currently working on the development of a project at 4414 S. Dowdy Road in West Spokane for the Spokane-based siding and roofing company Cobra Building Envelope Contractors. The 6.2-acre campus near the Spokane International Airport will include an office and shop building, each with about 11,500 square feet of floor space, and a storage building with about 3,000 square feet of space. The company is doing its own construction work for the project, Craven says.

Craven bought the Genesee Block building from Gerald Kofmehl, a Spokane-area general contractor. He declined to disclose the purchase price.

“I used to work for SRM Development in the Banner Bank building right across the street,” Craven says. “It’s a great location, it’s got great bones and it’s tremendously underutilized.”

The Genesee Block building has equal square-footage on each floor. The top floor is currently divided into two, 2,100-square foot suites. Craven says the upper level has been unoccupied for more than a decade.

As for the lower level, Craven’s purchase will force RE Loans Pawn Shop, the only tenant there, to relocate. Shop owner Roger Repp, 69, says he must vacate the roughly 2,000-square-foot space by July 24. He says he hopes to establish a website and sell items from there.

Repp says the business hasn’t had a profitable year since not long after he moved in “25 to 30 years ago.” Cameras that require film, compact discs and cassette tapes, a refrigerator from the 1960s, and an airplane door are among the items that still remain at Repp’s pawn shop.

“I kept doing this because I like the people; having the interaction with them,” Repp says. “But if I had to do it all over again, I would have just stuck with jewelry. There’s always money in gold. Some of this stuff has just sat in here for the last 25 to 30 years.”

The small office space next door to Repp’s store has been empty for close to a decade now, Craven says.

Craven says he worked for close to 10 years as a development manager at Spokane-based SRM Development LLC. He left the company about four years ago to start Regulus Properties. 

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Craven says of owning his own firm.