SPOKANE, Wash. - If the number of keys on Chris Batten ring is any indication to the number of properties he owns around town, then he's built up quite the portfolio.
It took him eight tries to unlock the front door on his 154 S. Madison property.
"We're invested in this neighborhood. We have been for 20 years," Batten said. "So, it's challenging."
One door south, The City Gate has been proving services for people experiencing homeless including a foodbank, free clothes, free meals, and low-income housing. But for years, it's attracted illegal activity, according to Batten.
Which is why he was shocked to see to the street clean headed into a new calendar year.
"I tell you right now today, it's about as good as it gets," Batten said. "And what's interesting is, it's not about the tenants who live in the building, because they're still there right now today."
- he and the Board of Directors split over an argument about money.
Batten and 41 other businesses sent a letter in April 2024 asking The City Gate to permanently close their kitchen. The letter attributed drug dealing, drug use, and human waste to the kitchen service specifically.
"It's about the food service and that activity that they draw to the neighborhood," Batten said. "Nobody has a problem with the residential component of the building. They're low-income folks, and frankly, it's something that we need. They need to have a place to live."
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown wrote a letter to The City Gate in May 2024. It outlined a number of crimes and complaints in the area Spokane Police linked to The City Gate. Over a 90-day period, the letter documented 36 total instances and comes to an agreement with the original letter Batten penned with 41 others.
"It is my desire that City Gate's Board will work with the City and take all reasonable measures to prevent and abate the activity described above," Mayor Brown wrote. "It is your responsibility to make every reasonable effort to end the criminal, drug and nuisance activity occurring in and around [The City Gate property]."
The City Gate is still operating low-income housing and protecting those people remains their top priority, according to board member John Kittel. The nonprofit owns the building, but only on the condition a Christian-based charity operates at the location, Kittel confirmed.
The City Gate responded to the April letter by acknowledging the issues but also defending their operation- The City Gate has existed since 1988.
"Simply removing the City Gate and the services it provides would have a detrimental impact on all of the Spokane area, as that aforementioned population will lose one of its valuable resources," board member Bob May wrote in a response letter. "In such a scenario, that same population would attempt to have their basic needs met in other ways, which could potentially be detrimental to all businesses across Spokane."
The City Gate is still looking for a Christian-based partner organization to continue operations. It's unclear if any - or all - preexisting services would return to accompany the low-income housing complex upstairs.
"I'd rather have a good operator that I can help support their mission. You know, if they respected the neighborhood," Batten said. "City Gate just hasn't done that over the years."
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