Spokane Standard

The historic Rose Apartments are getting a new home just a stone's throw from Liberty Park.

The building is in the path of North-South Freeway construction, according to a press release from the city. The East Central Community Organization stepped in to see that the historic building, an affordable housing unit, would be preserved. 

The Washington Department of Transportation used eminent domain to seize the land under the building, but the State decided to preserve the building and put it up for auction. 

“Only someone who would place the building back into the neighborhood could purchase it. So they held an auction, and we were the only bidder and we repurchased the building for $10,” Chris Venne of East Central Community Organization told the City of Spokane in the press release. 

A contractor has been hired to move the building one block south of its current location.

In 2012, the City of Spokane helped East Central Community Organization purchase and remodel the hundred-year-old building. In that restoration, the building was converted into eight units of affordable housing. The organization hopes to have units available to the public by the end of 2020.