A Spokane homebuilder-turned real estate investor says he's heading up a group that has offered to buy 11 stories in the 13-story Ridpath Hotel tower and most of an adjacent building. The group envisions buying other parts of the complex, which currently has fragmented ownership, and hopes to launch a multimillion-dollar renovation there.

Stephen Antonietti, founder of The Antonietti Group, declines to disclose the terms of the offer, but says the total project costs for the envisioned Ridpath Grand would total $30 million to $40 million.

Antonietti says the investment group includes local and out-of-state investors, some of whom are experienced in large real estate developments and construction projects, although he declines to identify the group members.

Antonietti, who describes himself as a small residential builder and 20-year Spokane resident with some prior experience promoting and managing entertainment venues, says the Ridpath Grand is by far the largest project he's tried to put together.

The conceptual plans include a redevelopment of the hotel as an entertainment destination that eventually would include 260 guest rooms, four full-service restaurants, an 8,000-square-foot nightclub, and 12,000 square feet of banquet space, Antonietti says.

They also involve constructing two more floors atop both the hotel tower and the Halliday Building, which is a two-level structure just east of the Ridpath tower at the southwest corner of Sprague Avenue and Stevens Street. Each building would have rooftop venues suitable for events such as outdoor weddings and concerts, he says.

The project would create 200 construction jobs and possibly more than 200 permanent jobs throughout the Ridpath Grand, Antonietti says.

"If we can make it happen, it will be an entertainment facility rather than just a hotel," he says. "It will give as a different feel for the city than at any other hotel, and it will keep money in the city."

Construction and renovation of the Ridpath Grand would take at least three years to complete, Antonietti says.

The complex is comprised of properties covering the east half of the city block bordered on the east side by Stevens Street and on the north and south sides by Sprague and First avenues.

The Ridpath Hotel opened in 1904 and was rebuilt twice because of fires, Antonietti says. It was expanded substantially with the construction of the tower in 1950.

At its peak, the hotel had 200 rooms in the tower, 44 rooms in the adjacent hotel annex, and 80 rooms in the Executive Court, on the southwest corner of Stevens and First and connected to the annex via a skywalk.

Las Vegas hotelier Doug Da Silva bought the hotel in 2006, and Washvada Investments LLC, which Da Silva managed, sold off parts of the complex, including the top two floors of the tower.

The hotel has been vacant, though, since 2008. The last commercial operation in the complex, The Game Sports Grill & Supper Club, closed last month.

In an attempt to get the hotel back under one corporate ownership, The Antonietti Group is working with a "convoluted" mix of property owners, banks that hold mortgages, and bankruptcy-related interests that control or are involved in different portions of the complex, Antonietti says.

Washvada's lender, Las Vegas-based Integrated Financial Associates Inc. (IFA), foreclosed on the tower property in December, but has since filed for bankruptcy protection, he says.

Antonietti says his group's offer for the tower floors now is under review by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, in Nevada, and he expects it will be approved this month.

"Once we have acquisition of the tower, we can start the project," he says.

Meantime, the city has issued notices of fire- and safety-code violations to some property owners. It held a hearing May 26 to determine whether the owners had made adequate progress to comply with the codes. Dan Skindzier, the city's inspector supervisor, declines to comment on The Antonietti Group's efforts until the city develops its findings and directives resulting from the hearing, and notifies current property owners.

The city's attempts at getting all of the current owners to work together to maintain the properties have been stymied in part by easement disputes for some of the formerly shared infrastructure in the properties, Antonietti says. Water and fire suppression lines, electrical systems, and elevators are in disrepair and too expensive for individual current owners to repair or replace, he says.

The Antonietti Group also intends to buy IFA's bank note on the five-floor hotel annex, also known as the Y Building because it once was occupied by the YMCA, at the northwest corner of First and Stevens, Antonietti says. The annex also is attached to the hotel and is just south of the Halliday Building.

"The same bank also held the trust on the Y Building," he says. "They asked us to separate the offers. That makes it easier for us to acquire the tower sooner."

Separately, the group has secured an option to buy most of the Halliday Building, Antonietti says. "A private party has accepted our offer for the Halliday property," he says.

The group plans to begin replacing broken store windows in the boarded-up Halliday Building as early as next week.

"By cleaning up the outside of the building, it will make and immense difference in the city's view that we're starting to fix the property," he says.

A portion of the street-level space of the Halliday Building would be opened up for a vehicle turnaround for the hotel. The remainder of the Halliday Building's street level space would be divided into a six-bay retail center that would be inspired by European village shops, Antonietti says.

If the group is successful in consolidating the tower, the Halliday Building, and the hotel annex properties, it will pursue purchases of other parts of the complex currently under separate ownership, he says. Those properties include parts of the hotel lobby, the 12th and 13th floors of the tower, retail space facing Sprague and First avenues, and the remaining parts of the first floor and basement of the Halliday Building.

Spokane-based NAI Black commercial real estate agent Jon Jeffreys, who is listed as the sales agent for the annex building and has handled listings for the top two stories of the hotel, says he's heard that The Antonietti Group has been developing a plan for more than a year, but he hasn't seen it and declines to comment on it.

The Ridpath Grand would open the lower floors of the tower to guests within nine months of the acquisition, Antonietti says. More rooms would open in three-floor blocks as construction and renovations are completed, he says.

The Antonietti Group also has its sights on eventually acquiring the Executive Court, which would offer luxury suites, three ballrooms, and an outdoor swimming pool, he says.

The group has launched a website, saveridpathhotel.com, to raise community awareness about the envisioned project.