A sealed-bid auction has failed to attract buyers for the top two floors of the 13-story former Ridpath Hotel tower downtown or for the four-story annex, known as the Y Building, that's just east of the tower.

NAI Black sales and leasing agent Marc McLees, who along with colleague Jon Jeffreys is marketing the properties, says the auction attracted "just a couple" of offers, all for the Y Building, and none of them met the minimum price the sellers were willing to accept.

McLees says, nevertheless, that he was encouraged by the number of interested parties he and Jeffreys heard from after the auction who for various reasons didn't participate in it. He says he and Jeffreys now are talking with prospective buyers for each of the properties in hopes of reaching sale agreements, but will include the properties in a July 15 auction if that effort fails.

Of the "ton of inquiries" received after the auction, McLees says, "That was exciting. It was a little different than what I expected."

Part of the reason for the lack of participation in the auction, he says, appeared to have been due to some prospective buyers not having sufficient time to complete what's called due diligence. That term, in this context, refers to the process of gathering all of the background and business viability-related data a buyer needs to proceed with a transaction.

McLees says he plans to try to put together some of that desired information, such as renovation and startup cost estimates, between now and the July auction to help eliminate that obstacle, assuming the properties aren't sold before then.

NAI Black advertised the Ridpath properties through an accelerated marketing program its worldwide affiliate network, NAI Global, of Princeton, N.J., began offering recently. The program, called Commercial Property PowerSale, is a nontraditional marketing approach that's designed to help property owners and financial institutions dispose of troubled and surplus real estate assets quickly. It gives property owners the option of offering those assets for sale via a series of live online auctions, sealed bids, or a combination of the two formats.

To spread the word about the available properties, NAI Global said it's using "an aggressive marketing campaign that includes focused print, broadcast, and electronic advertising, and a direct-to-buyer outreach to more than 175,000 active buyers."

The Ridpath properties were among 54 properties nationwide, with a combined value of more than $158 million, that were offered May 1 through the PowerSale program. Although the sealed-bid format used for the Ridpath properties didn't generate accepted bids, McLees says, "Our seller was happy with the auction. It got a lot of exposure." Another PowerSale auction is set for June 11, followed by the one on July 15.

NAI Black representatives said earlier that they expect to include a number of other commercial properties here in the June 11 PowerSale auction—a sign that owners are looking for alternative ways to liquidate under-utilized or nonperforming properties.

McLees and Jeffreys for a time were promoting the 12th and 13th floors of the hotel tower, at 514 W. First, as a good location for upscale two-story condominiums, but McLees says the focus over the last several weeks before the auction was on the floors' potential as office space. They've been touting the Y Building, at 502 W. First, as being ideal for a boutique hotel.

McLees had said the joint owners of the separately marketed properties, Poachers Rock LLC and Sun Devil Investments LLC, both of Spokane, set undisclosed reserve, or minimum acceptable, prices for them. If those reserves had been met, the sales of the properties were expected to be completed quickly—within 30 days—because all prospective bidders who have registered to participate in the PowerSale program have been prequalified and have put up preliminary financing.

The two floors of the Ridpath have a combined total of about 14,000 square feet of floor space, and offer panoramic views of the surrounding area.

An upscale restaurant called Ankeny's formerly occupied the top floor for many years.

The adjacent Y Building includes 45 fully furnished executive hotel suites, 6,200 square feet of street-level retail space, and a 6,300-square-foot lower level with a historic marble pool.

Poachers Rock bought both properties last year with plans for hospitality-related and residential-condo projects, but those projects failed to come together.

The Ridpath Hotel closed last August, ending a reported reign as the oldest continuously operating full-service hotel in Spokane. It opened in the early 1900s, and the current hotel tower was built in about 1950. The Y Building was built in 1908 and at one time housed the YMCA here.