The inland northwest is booming,
with building and housing
developments going up.
But in one of Spokane's most
historic areas, what's old is new
again. In our continuing Boomtown coverage,
Creme Tuz Cody Proctor takes a
look at what's being done to brush
off the dust in Hilliard and bring
some shine to the neighborhood.
Founded in 1892, Hilliard has a
proud history, but it has seen
tough times and a rough reputation.
But now there seems to be a wave
of work to try and turn things
around in the neighborhood.
But it's not without its concerns.
Walking to Mr.
can't Barber shop on Market Street
and you just might find Yoda
and his person, Brandon Massey.
They're stapling downtown Hilliard
at a place Massey calls a good
old-fashioned neighborhood Barber shop.
It's been a shop for over 100 years.
We have only had four owners.
We're currently on our 4th owner
with longtime customers coming here.
So it's Ken.
So the 90s.
It's beloved spot in the community.
It's also getting a new neighbor.
Well, neighbors, meet Dave Musser.
You gotta be fun.
This is going to be succeeding back here.
This is planning for the future.
He and his wife Brianna are the
owners of Bellwether Brewing
and owners of the historic
United Building built in 1920.
The building used to be
the United Hilliard Bank.
Now it's going through a revival.
We wanted to do a second location
and this building came available.
But it's way too big for just a tap room,
and so we invited friends with
us to do a collaborative space.
Those friends include Victor Lewin of
Locos and Derailer coffees, Jeff Parker.
It's a partnership dating back to
the spring of 2020. Since then,
there's been a lot of work done.
We've had to sprinkle the whole building,
which made us have to tear
up Market Street and, like,
connect to the main water there.
And there's still plenty to do. We're
still looking at putting
in our dish pit our sinks.
Finishing up the electrical
but they're getting closer to opening
up the United building to the public.
And they're not the only ones.
Just down the street,
works underway at the old Masonic
Temple to open up the Bison bar.
Other newly renovated places also
include a former library branch,
now home to the restaurant
the bad seed for Jeffrey,
owner of Greens Fresh Market.
We're seeing a lot of new
faces in the neighborhood.
They're welcome changes for community
that seen both crime and poverty.
Years
ago. It was a lot of. Hours. Lot of.
You know, riff raft, that's changed.
The work being done with United
buildings certainly made Massonia fan.
I love it, I love it. I love the work.
I love people coming in and giving
a facelift to old buildings.
I'm a huge fan of antiques and vintage stuff.
I love old buildings.
Tell me a house has an open floor
plan and I'm not interested at
all. For all the excitement
next door, he has worries.
My fear is that management
companies are going to come in and
revitalize it and raise the rents.
There are a lot of small
businesses in Hilliard,
a lot of family run businesses,
and if they come in and raise the
rents it could very well put a lot of
those people out of business, Massey
says. The current rent for the Barber
shop ranges from 800 to $1500 a month
since they pay on a percentage.
According to the most recent
commercial real estate report from
the National Association of Realtors,
the current market rent per square
foot for retail space in the Spokane
Spokane Valley metro area is $15.00
and this shop is only 400. Square feet.
So if you do the math, that's a couple
do a few $1000 a month. Actually
based on the math, it'd be closer
to $6000 based on the market rent.
That is well above what you
guys are saying right now.
Oh yeah, well above, well above.
We may not be able to stay
in the neighborhood either,
which would take away access
to a grooming type situation
for low income people.
It's something Lewin,
who's lived in Seattle and saw
the changes made to Ballard.
Doesn't want to see happen.
I'd be heartbroken to see that
happen in this neighborhood.
And I still think there's a lot
of very hard working people here
that have those dreams of being
able to do something like this.
But as with anything in
Hilliard, only time will tell
right now. the United building
is expected to open up sometime
this spring in Spokane.
Cody Proctor, Crime 2 news.