Building block

Real estate agents extol the merits of location, location, location.

But this tale is about timing.

In the early 1990s, Shannon Ahern and his sister-in-law, Chris O’Harra, investigated buying a building to house Auntie’s Bookstore and Uncle’s Games. Since launching their successful Book & Game Co. in the Flour Mill in 1978, they’d leased space, mostly in malls. Now they wanted more control over their destiny.

City leaders nudged them toward downtown’s fledgling west side arts district, but Ahern had his eye on a four-story former department store at Main Avenue and Washington Street.

And his timing couldn’t have been better.

“Downtown was dying,” Ahern recalled. “The Davenport was vacant. Frederick and Nelson’s had closed. Penney’s had left, and people thought Nordstrom might be next.”

Ahern and O’Harra bought the 1908 Kemp & Hebert Building for $600,000, renamed it the Liberty Building because of their commitment to liberty and freedom of expression, and set about erasing years of neglect.

Today, downtown Spokane is thriving, the Liberty Building’s value has increased twelvefold, and the $138 million Davenport Grand Hotel is scheduled to open across the street next summer.

During a recent interview, property manager Ahern discussed his job, his business philosophy, and which class he took years ago has proved most useful.

S-R: Where did you grow up?

Ahern: Mostly in central Oregon.

S-R: What were your interests in high school?

Ahern: Games, sports and making money.

S-R: Did you envision a particular career?

Ahern: I started out thinking I’d be an architect, but that major took too long and required expensive equipment. Next I tried business, but the classes were boring. So I switched to economics, and graduated from the University of Oregon.

S-R: Then what?

Ahern: After four years of teaching, I was ready for a change. I liked games, and even designed some for my classrooms. Chris, who taught journalism and English, always wanted to sell books. So we decided to open a book and game store together.

S-R: How did you end up in Spokane?

Ahern: Eugene already had 40 bookstores. We looked around and discovered Spokane had only one. So we opened the Book & Game Co. in the Flour Mill. Next we opened Merlyn’s, then a Sandpoint store, then Lewiston, Walla Walla, Bend, and opened the first Auntie’s in the mid-’80s.

S-R: You’d always leased space for your businesses. Why did you decide to buy in the early ’90s?

Ahern: I noticed that when my business friends retired, their wealth wasn’t their business. It was their real estate.

S-R: What appealed to you about the Liberty Building?

Ahern: It reminded me of Eugene’s Public Market and Seattle’s Pike Place Market – old brick buildings that could accommodate an assortment of fun businesses. And the location was great – close to everything.

S-R: What was the neighborhood like back then?

Ahern: There was a brewery next door, and Huppin’s (stereo and camera store) just down the street, which was good. But mostly it was pawn shops and bars – a little rough.

S-R: What did you pay?

Ahern: Just over $600,000, which was the value of the land alone. And once we were on the national historic register, we got tons of tax breaks.

S-R: What was its condition?

Ahern: Inside, it was dark and ugly. The atrium was boarded up to make more floor space for selling furniture. There were lots of fake walls, and the windows were covered in metal. Luckily we were able to wipe out the bad stuff because it wasn’t historic.

S-R: What was your plan?

Ahern: We initially thought about putting apartments upstairs and moving here. But I was a widower, and decided I didn’t want to raise my kids downtown. By coincidence, when we refinanced our loan, our bank – Washington Mutual – was looking for more office space, and took a floor. Then an architectural firm – ALSC – approached us about renting a floor. Suddenly I had almost half the building leased without doing anything.

S-R: Did the presence of Auntie’s Bookstore help attract tenants?

Ahern: It did, and it still does.

S-R: Did your economics background prove useful in property management?

Ahern: No, but my life experiences did. When I was growing up, my dad opened several convenience stores. We’d remodel them and I helped with the bookkeeping. The most valuable class I ever took, by far, was typing in seventh grade.

S-R: How did the business evolve?

Ahern: Chris always wanted to be a bookseller, but I knew I couldn’t do the same thing my whole life. So toward the end of the ’90s, she took Auntie’s and I took the Book & Game stores, one Uncle’s store and Merlyn’s. Then I got partners to run the stores and buy me out, so I could travel.

S-R: How did you end up owning the building?

Ahern: After three years of helping communities in Nicaragua, I came back in 2007 because occupancy was down to 50 percent and I had to decide whether to manage the building or sell it. I ended up buying most of Chris’ share and took over management.

S-R: Did you ever consider buying more buildings in this neighborhood?

Ahern: Yes. I had lots of ideas that would have been profitable, but you have to put your heart and soul into a new business, and it owns you. We only have a short time here, and I already have enough money. Most of us do.

S-R: Have people approached you about buying the Liberty Building?

Ahern: Yes, including three different hotels interested in tying up the whole block. But I wasn’t very motivated.

S-R: What was your reaction when you learned Walt Worthy wanted to build his Davenport Grand across the street?

Ahern: I thought it was good. I like Walt because he gets things done. He tells you something, and he does it. And the hotel foot traffic should help Auntie’s and Uncle’s survive longer.

S-R: What do you like most about your job?

Ahern: That I can dictate my own hours, and be creative.

S-R: What’s your business philosophy?

Ahern: I try to give tenants what they want and not be too greedy – not take all the marbles.

S-R: What do you tell people when they ask what you do?

Ahern: That’s tough, because I wear four hats. I manage property, and co-own the downtown Uncle’s. I foster fair trade with other countries. And I run a nonprofit – Partnership in Hope – that does holistic Christian community development around the world.

S-R: What sort of person is best suited for property management?

Ahern: When you’re just starting out you have to do a lot of maintenance yourself, so expect to work hard. You also have to be a risk taker, and realize you may not make much money for a while. But that’s true of most new businesses.

S-R: Are there still bargain-priced downtown properties like the one you found two decades ago?

Ahern: Probably not in this neighborhood. But if you’re patient and don’t limit yourself to one particular type of commercial property, you’ll eventually find someone who’s eager to sell.

S-R: Looking back, what would you have done differently?

Ahern: I would have bought a faster elevator.

This interview has been edited and condensed.