Spokane’s historic downtown Michael Building is more than half occupied with tenants following an extensive recent renovation, says Bob Spooner, of Spokane-based Goodale & Barbieri Co., the leasing and property manager for the structure.

Diamond Parking Co., of Seattle, which owns the four-story building located at 830 W. Sprague, is advertising the units as offering luxurious downtown living.

“We’ve only had certification for occupancy for about a month,” Spooner says, adding, “I think it speaks to pent-up demand for high-end living in the downtown core.”

The Michael Building, which sits at the prominent northeast corner of Sprague Avenue and Lincoln Street, just north across Sprague from the Davenport Hotel, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ron Wells, of Spokane-based Wells & Co., is the project’s developer. Spooner says Diamond Parking and Wells prefer not to disclose the cost of the redevelopment project. 

Eugene Germond developed the structure, originally named the Germond Block, in 1890, after the city’s great fire of 1889, historic records say. Its first use after the fire was as Spokane’s city hall. 

The Michael Building’s ground floor has retail space, while the top three floors have been renovated for residential living, Spooner says. Thirteen of 18 units there currently have tenants, he says. The apartments range in size from 900 to 1,200 square feet of floor space and rent for $1,800 to $2,400 a month, Spooner says.

Meanwhile, renovation is underway on the ground floor for a planned 2,100-square-foot restaurant named the Knife, which is designed to be a burger bar and scheduled to open in November, Spooner says. Josh Hissong, co-owner of Spokane architectural firm Hurtado|Hissong Design Group (HDG) LLC, is the architect for the restaurant and also will be one of its owners, Spooner says.

The three other owners include Armando Hurtado, Hissong’s partner at HDG; Matt Goodwin; and John Wells, Spooner says.

The Knife will occupy part of the first floor of the building. A restaurant named Agave Latin Bistro formerly occupied that corner retail space.

“They were hoping for a spring opening, but because of the building’s historic designation, there were some design issues that came back that moved Knife’s opening back to November ’15,” Spooner says. 

Pattit Creek Cellars at 1,500 square feet, and Bruttles Candy Shoppe, at 1,400 square feet, are the other first-floor tenants. Spooner says there remains an 850-square foot space that has yet to be filled.