Fate of St. Elmo's Hotel building unknown

Justin and Lindsay Brown, owners of the St. Elmo’s building in Palouse, appeared before the city council Feb. 12 to discuss plans for the 1888 former hotel on Main Street.

The Browns bought the building last year with plans to refurbish it.

At the meeting, they told the city council, representatives of the Palouse Chamber of Commerce and an estimated 20 more residents, that the project is too big.

Last summer, they hired workers to strip out plaster surfaces on the inside.

“The more they stripped out, the more structural deficiencies he began to find,” said Michael Echanove, Palouse mayor.

Jus...