SPOKANE, Wash. – If you were looking for the American Dream, an old Five Mile home built in 1906 checks all the boxes – a little land on the edge of town, a wrap-around front porch, a white picket fence out front.
Its curb appeal is a leftover relic from a previous generation. And while neighbors consider it a landmark – even the gem of the neighborhood – it has no historic protection.
Spokane City Council previously approved Pine View Developments request to turn the home’s lot into 48 apartment units. Now, the council is considering a new request; Pine View Developments wants to destroy the home entirely.
“Our city failed us in allowing that development to go in here,” 30-year Five Mile resident Marilyn Lund said. “”It’s his choice, it’s his property but the city made a huge mistake.”
Lund walks past the home regularly; she’s seen it sit vacant now for years. Like her, others want to see the home stay as much as they want the apartments to stay away.
“I don’t know if there is any chance of saving it,” Lund said. “I know there is a need for housing, but this place is not it.”
The city’s consideration on the request to demolish is on hold, according to City of Spokane spokesperson Erin Hutt. An environmental review, including a cultural resource survey, needs to be complete before the process is under consideration.
Hutt estimates the review will wrap up sometime in November.
Pine View Development Owner Andrew Spelman originally planned to move the house to a separate location and preserve it; however, flood damage has destroyed much of the home, according to KHQ’s reporting partners at the Spokesman-Review.
Neighbors are not giving up on blocking the project, according to Five Mile Prairie Neighborhood Council Chair Aaron Reese. A pair of neighbors spent tens of thousands of dollars to ensure the city and developer followed the legal process perfectly.
In the city’s approval of the original project plan, they acknowledge unanimous public feedback against the project along with various concerns including emergency response times, traffic, parking, and lack of access to public transportation on the prairie.
