A real estate investment group headed by Spokane businessman Joe Harwood recently bought three buildings downtown that either are being remodeled or will be renovated soon.


The transactions involve the former House of Charity building, on the south side of Main Avenue just west of the intersection of Main and Division Street; the Jefferson Building, at the southeast corner of First Avenue and Jefferson Street; and the Norman Building, just east of the Jefferson Building.


The former House of Charity building is a two-story structure with about 14,000 square feet of floor space. Harwood says the investment group bought it for $150,000 from the Catholic Diocese of Spokane. The investment group includes four people, but the other three prefer that their names arent disclosed, Harwood says.


C&H Properties, a separate company that Harwood co-owns and manages, plans a $200,000 remodeling project at the House of Charity and will convert the entire building to commercial space.


Catholic Charities vacated the building last month when it moved the House of Charity operation, which includes a homeless shelter for men and meal service and medical care for low-income people, to a newly constructed facility at the northeast corner of Pacific Avenue and Browne Street.


The investment group bought the Jefferson and Norman buildings, each of which has three stories and 22,000 square feet of floor space, from Gerald Wiley, of Spokane, Harwood says.


C&H Properties is remodeling apartments in those two buildingsthe Jefferson has 39 living units, and the Norman has 44, Harwood says. The company plans to renovate the buildings facades then improve a combined 11,400 square feet of retail space on the main floors of the two structures after it secures tenants, he says. The Jefferson will have about 7,200 square feet of retail floor space available, and the Norman will have 4,200 square feet of such space available next month after an adult bookstore located there vacates that space, he says. Little Nickels Tavern currently is located in that building and is expected to remain there, Harwood says.


He says he hasnt determined the cost of renovating the Jefferson and Norman.


With the commercial space in the Jefferson, Norman, and the former House of Charity, C&H Properties hopes to attract either startup businesses or small, young companies that are trying to expand. He says the company is receptive to helping such businesses with, for example, reduced rents or small investments into their operations.


C&H Properties manages several properties here owned by Harwoods investment group.


Pat Kinney, of F.S. Barrett & Co., and Tom Mahar, an independent real estate agent here, handled the transaction involving the former House of Charity. Kim Jones, of R.H. Cooke Inc., and Victor Lewis, of Victor Lewis Realtors, handled the transactions involving the Jefferson and Norman buildings.