The principal owner of the two Keller Williams Realty agencies here says he and his partners are merging the two brokerages and consolidating them in a building just north of downtown, with plans to ultimately have more than 300 agents there.


Keller Williams Realty Spokane Valley, which has about 100 agents and occupies leased space at 609 N. Argonne, will move soon to a 17,000-square-foot leased building, at 802 N. Washington, occupied by Keller Williams Realty Spokane, which has about 110 agents, says Bruce Hardie, operating principal of both brokerages.


Keller Williams Realty Spokane has been located in the building on Washington for two years, but leased additional space there in December, and now occupies the entire structure, Hardie says. The building is located just north of the Red Lion Inn at the Park.


The merged brokerage, which will have 210 agents, will operate under the name Keller Williams Realty Spokane, Hardie says. He expects the agency will add another 100 agents by the end of the year, giving it more than 300 agents.


Hardie started Keller Williams Realty Spokane in 2000. It is a franchise of Austin, Texas-based Keller Williams Realty International. He later sold that franchise operation and started a separate agency, Keller Williams Realty Spokane Valley. Hardie bought back the Spokane agency two years ago, but until now has operated the two franchises separately.


This allows us to maintain a consistent culture throughout the company, Hardie says. Weve found theres a synergy within a large office that helps our agents be more successful.


In addition to the office downtown, Keller Williams Spokane operates a business center in a 1,500-square-foot leased space at 605 E. Holland, on the North Side, he says. Such centers are satellite offices where agents who are marketing properties nearby can stop in and work.


Once the Valley operation moves downtown, the agency will start looking for a place to set up a similar type of office in a smaller space in the Valley, Hardie says. The agency also is looking for a site for a business center on the South Hill. It hopes to open those two locations by the middle of this year, he says.


Contact Emily Proffitt at (509) 344-1265 or via e-mail at emilyp@spokanejournal.com.