A building that has housed a fraternal lodge, nightclub and playhouse is being converted into downtown residences.

The former Eagles Temple just south of Second Avenue at 174 S. Howard St. will undergo vast changes, but Susannah Stoltz, the building’s owner and developer, said many historic elements will be preserved as she renovates its interior to include “premium spaces.”

“We’d really like to preserve any cool architecture that there is and modernize it,” she said.

When the $2.2 million project is completed early next year, the 25,000-square-foot building will have 21 residences on three floors and two retail spots on the ground floor.

The top floor will have “true lofts” with 20-foot ceilings and up to 1,200 square feet of space, Stoltz said. A former mezzanine is being turned into a second floor and will include more apartments.

Work will also be done on the building’s exterior to return it to original condition. Currently, the facade is covered with a wall of glass bricks.

Stotlz purchased the building in December 2017 for $750,000. It was built in 1923 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles and remained with the group as a meeting hall until 1960. After years of vacancy, it opened in 1969 as the Canterbury Inn, a nightclub, and then the Land’s End Tavern in 1974. In 1980, the space became a theater, Inter Players. Most recently it was the Modern Theater Spokane, which closed in 2016 because of high costs and low revenue.

Stoltz said she relishes the challenge to enliven the building, which sits just south of the railway viaduct.

“I’ve always wanted to convert a building,” she said. “I found this one and it just fell right into place. It’s a really, really cool building.”

In 2016, Stoltz and a business partner, Carolina Johnson, created a pilot television show for HGTV called “Bungalow Reno” about “flipping” homes in the Spokane area. One episode was produced, featuring their work converting a bungalow in the South Perry neighborhood.

Stoltz wouldn’t estimate what rent would be for the apartments, noting the rental market is very dynamic. But she did say she’d be looking for tenants at the end of this year.

The project’s general contractor is Mauer Construction, of Spokane. The architect is Spokane-based Russell Page Architects.