The co-owner of the Spokane-based photography business Dorian Studio Inc. says he has bought a 13,000-square-foot former banquet-and-kitchen facility on Sunset Hill for an undisclosed sum, but hasn't decided yet what to do with the space.

Joe Mark, who owns the business with his wife, Yvonne, says he bought the facility at 4212 W. Sunset Boulevard from Chris Yoo, of Seattle, who owns the adjacent Econo Lodge hotel, and might move Dorian Studio's offices there. The facility has not been used for some time, he says, although the hotel is continuing to operate.

Dorian Studio employs 40 people full time in Spokane, and has other offices in Seattle and the Tri-Cities; Portland, Ore.; Boise; Las Vegas; and Phoenix.

It employs many more people during its busy school photography season, but its total number of employees fluctuates, Mark says. Dorian does school and sports photography from all of its locations, and it processes at its lab facilities here the photos it takes.

It has been operating from temporary quarters since July 24, when a fire destroyed the former Joel Inc. building, at 161 S. Post, where it had occupied about 12,000 square feet of space on three floors.

The fire also destroyed Churchill's Steak House and several condominiums being developed in the building. Mark says investigators still are trying to determine the cause of the fire.

He says he still would prefer to move the photography business back into that building, but is awaiting a final determination regarding the structural integrity of that space. He says one report has indicated that the building isn't structurally sound, but a final determination hasn't been made yet.

If the building is determined to be safe, he says, Dorian might be able to use only the main floor there for a showroom and would have to house its main offices elsewhere, but Mark says he'd prefer to have everything in one location. Currently, Dorian's staff is working from several locations around Spokane, including in a lab in the Sirti Technology Center, at 120 N. Pine, a showroom at 1105 N. Lincoln, and lab space it's leasing from R&R Custom Color Lab, at 1401 N. Calispel.

Regardless of other factors, Dorian plans to vacate the 3,500-square-foot Sirti space in January, although it will keep the space on Lincoln for now, Mark says. He says Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, will be the contractor for any remodeling Dorian does at the Econo Lodge facility. Mark says if Dorian returns to the Joel building, he's not sure yet what he will do with the Econo Lodge facility.

Kim Zentz, executive director of Sirti, says the economic-development agency doesn't have a signed lease with another tenant for Dorian's space yet, but is seeking one based on Dorian's comments that it plans to move.