Converting downtown office space for short-term rental

[Caleb Webster]

Does anyone here have any experience converting commercial zoned office buildings to short term rentals in Spokane? I've begun looking into the process with the city and it sounds like it will require a change of use to hotel/motel which will most likely come with additional requirements. Fire suppression systems = expensive so if there are ways around this I'd love to know about it. I have friends in other markets that have used this strategy and seen excellent returns.

[Josh Collins]

@Caleb Webster

Based on your posting of the zoning ordinance, it looks to me that you'd want it classified either as Retail Sales and Service or Hotel/Motel depending on the lesser of the building code requirements (assuming you're looking to minimize costs).  You may have to have fire suppression in both, I'm not sure.  But with that being said, if your model supports the cost of fire suppression and any other upgrades, it seems as if your use would be allowed.  It might be a conditional use but technically, the City Council shouldn't be interpreting this based on what they want to see but rather on the code requirements and that you meet and conditions to the use.  But that isn't how it always works so it depends on the Council's feelings.  As @John Woodrich said, you'll want to take their temperature at a Planning Commission meeting first and a City Council meeting second.  For conditional uses, the Planning Commission needs to recommend it to the Council and the Council can then review it for approval.  They typically go on the Commission's recommendations.  

This seems doable to me but you'll have likely to go through the proper channels.  Not that you're try to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, but I understand that you'd like to find a loophole to exploit (in a good way).