Yellow Door Properties LLC, a Spokane real estate investment concern, has bought two adjacent downtown buildings known as the Jefferson Building and the Norman Building, and plans to rehabilitate the structures as mixed-use retail and residential developments.

The Jefferson Building, is located at 115 S. Jefferson, at the southwest corner of Jefferson Street and First Avenue. The Norman Building, is located at 1121 W. First, and is attached to the east side of the Jefferson building. The three-story buildings each have about 22,000 square feet of total floor space.

Yellow Door owner Daniel Sanchez says, “I think there is tremendous opportunity there on First with the proximity between downtown and Browne’s Addition.”

The buildings, which were constructed in 1908 and 1909, currently are vacant.

Sanchez declines to disclose the terms of the real estate transactions and the costs for the planned rehabilitation projects.

Spokane County’s taxable values for the structures are assessed at $883,400 for the Jefferson Building, and $412,300 for the Norman Building.

The retail space will be on the ground floor of both buildings, Sanchez says.

Spokane Boxing & Martial Arts is lined up for space in the Jefferson Building, he says. Spokane Boxing is located at 159½ S. Browne now.

Sanchez says he’s also seeking a restaurant-brewery tenant for the Jefferson.

As the projects currently are envisioned, Sanchez says, the Jefferson will have eight residential condominium units, and the Norman will have eight apartment units. Each residential unit likely will have 1,500 square feet or more of living space, he says.

Sanchez says he anticipates the Jefferson project and the retail portion of the Norman project will be completed in eight to 10 months, and the apartment units in the Norman project will be completed within a year after that.

Wells & Co., of Spokane, is designing the rehabilitation projects, Sanchez says.

Sanchez, who owns Mootsy’s bar, at 406 W. Sprague, says his real estate investments over the last nine years primarily have involved residential properties on Spokane’s South Hill.

Colin Conway, of Spokane-based commercial real estate brokerage Kiemle & Hagood Co., represented Yellow Door in both acquisitions. Mark McLees, of Spokane brokerage NAI, Black represented Bank of Fairfield, the seller of the Jefferson Building. Chris Batten, a broker with Ren Corp., of Spokane, represented Old Norman Building LLC, the seller of the Norman Building.