The building on Madison St. has been empty since 2007. A developer bought it and started renovations in 2017 but soon found asbestos throughout the structure.

SPOKANE, Wash. — After years of progress, the Otis Hotel building is nearing the end of its renovations.

The building on Madison St. has been empty since 2007. A developer bought it and started renovations in 2017 but soon found asbestos throughout the structure.

This halted work progress, but workers began renovating again in late 2018 after clearing the issue.

The hotel will be a part of the Hotel Indigo chain.

Its first floor will feature the main lobby, restaurant and some retail space, according to William Morrison, the project’s construction superintendent.

“You can already see a little bit of the historic storefront that we’ve recreated there,” Morrison said as he pointed to about a two-foot boarded wall.

Crews have finished most of the fourth floor and installed plumbing and electricity in the building.

“We’re basically working from the top down,” Morrison said.

They also completed one room that was used as a sample to show Hotel Indigo representatives.

“It kinda gives you an idea of what these will look like finished,” Morrison said.

He said the rooms are designed in a modern style, but the open areas of the hotel will keep the building’s original historical style.

“A lot of the woodwork is still there. All the original tile is still there,” he said. “We’re really just preserving as much of the history as we can.”