Oh well, doesn't really matter. I like it way better than NIMBY.

I'm probably going to think of this every time I see that caveman commercial. :haha:

Nice! Thanks for the honor.

Cody, I know you asked if I knew anything more about what businesses are going in at Riverstone. Sorry for taking long to reply. I haven't heard anything in the past two months. Here's what I have (basically old information):

Riverstone stores/restaurants/retailers currently open or planned:
Barnes & Noble, Regal Cinemas, Starbucks, Sangria Grill, Joe’s Smokin’ B-B-Q, Cold Stone Creamery, and Pizza Schmizza are all open. The Bardenay Restaurant and Distillery and Red Robin will open for business soon.

The project also includes both Hampton Inn & Suites and a Marriott Residence Inn

Possible tenants:
Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar (either at Riverstone or at The Pointe at PF), Azteca, another bank, more professional offices, etc.

Yeah, I think Azteca is already opened. So far, Riverstone is proving to be a tourist trap--I would like to see more stores (that we ALL would go to) open...or more like an outdoor mall concept.

And about Walmart, I think that another location in PF would do well, but I think they should expand into the Rathdrum area. However, I still would rather shop at Target--not because I am boycotting Walmart, I just think that Target is a little more 'hip'.

News from North Idaho in the past few days:

1.Trolley service plans are moving ahead, more planned projects in Riverstone
Plans for downtown trolley advance
By RICK THOMAS
COEUR d'ALENE -- While plans are moving ahead to begin a free trolley service between downtown and Riverstone by next summer, other major planned and rumored projects in the newer development are well in the future.

Dave Tomson, development manager for Riverstone, said in spite of persistent rumors, there are no plans for a resort or convention center in the present development.

"I've heard that before," he said. "Anything of that nature would be in phase three, where the pit is."

A rumor that Riverstone developer John Stone and Black Rock's Marshall Chesrown were partnering to build a resort-style convention center is being denied.

Tomson said even the fitness center Stone has said he intends to build in Riverstone is well down the road, as they continue to complete phase two, which includes The Village at Riverstone.

The first building of that mixed-use commercial and residential project is well under way, with the first residents expected to move in by January, Tomson said.

Building A, with 51 units, is about three-fourths sold, and the second and third buildings are also garnering interest. In all, 139 residential units ranging from one- to three-bedroom flats to two-story condominiums are planned.

"Sales are doing remarkably well, especially considering the national condo trend," Tomson said. "This development is unique enough to maintain interest."

He said specific plans for phase three, where the former Central Pre-Mix gravel pit is being filled, have not been determined.

Plans for a shuttle between Riverstone and downtown are moving forward, however.

Tomson said with more residents and businesses in Riverstone, and more people moving downtown, the shuttle would be welcomed as a convenient way for tourists and locals to get around.

"We'll be working on it during the winter," he said.
Link-http://www.cdapress.com/articles/200...ews/news02.txt


2. Workforce housing in midtown Cd'A is planned
LCDC, IHFA to partner on housing
By LUCY DUKES
COEUR d'ALENE -- The Lake City Development Corporation has formally agreed to work with the Idaho Housing and Finance Association to create workforce housing in midtown.

If the development goes through, Housing and Finance's development arm, The Housing Company, will construct street level retail and office space, with workforce housing on upper floors. Other details have not yet been determined.
Link-http://www.cdapress.com/articles/200...ews/news05.txt


3. Completion of the Kroc Community Center has been pushed back to the spring of 2009
Kroc Center completion delayed
By LUCY DUKES
COEUR d'ALENE -- The Kroc Center projected completion date has been pushed back from the end of 2008 to the spring of 2009.

"What we said a year ago was our best guess," said Major John Chamness, Inland Northwest coordinator for the Salvation Army.

"Our best guess now is early spring of 2009," he said.

Work at the site on Ramsey and Golf Course Road started about a month after groundbreaking this summer. However, the project won't forge ahead full-steam until November because architects, engineers and consultants have not yet finished detailed plans, said Salvation Army project manager Steve Walker.

The $35 million building will be 123,000 square feet, with a competition pool and leisure pool, gymnasium, fitness center, rock climbing pinnacle, indoor playground, chapel, indoor track, recording studio, meeting and event space and more.
Link-http://www.cdapress.com/articles/200...ews/news02.txt


4. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the $90 million Sandpoint highway bypass, few hurdles remain
Corps OKs Sandpoint highway project
Becky Kramer
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has given approval to a $90 million highway project that will route U.S. 95 traffic away from Sandpoint’s city streets.

The draft permit, released late Friday, is one of the final hurdles for the long-awaited Sand Creek Byway project, which was first proposed by state engineers in the 1950s.

Instead of channeling heavy truck traffic through the resort town on Lake Pend Oreille, a new section of Highway 95 will cross Sand Creek and follow the railroad tracks on the creek’s eastern edge. The 2.1-mile bypass will reconnect with the existing highway north of town.

If the Transportation Department agrees to the corps’ conditions, the corps will issue a final permit allowing ITD to conduct the work in Sand Creek needed to build the bypass.

The Sand Creek Byway has sparked controversy and litigation for years.

U.S. 95 – the state’s main north-south highway – cuts through Sandpoint’s downtown, where a series of 90-degree turns snarl traffic, leading to congestion and long waits. The route is heavily used by locals, skiers headed to Schweitzer Mountain Resort, pedestrians and summer tourists.

Last fall, elected officials from North Idaho urged state and federal agencies to speed up approval for the bypass, citing public safety concerns. But opponents said the new highway would jeopardize water quality, wildlife and the aesthetic look of Sandpoint’s historic downtown.
Link-http://www.spokesmanreview.com/break...y.asp?ID=11649


5. Red Robin is coming to Riverstone
Link-http://www.spokesmanreview.com/local....asp?ID=210775

Tonight I'm planning on updating the projects list on the first page since some projects have been completed in the past few months and some new projects have been announced.

I'm planning on putting Cd'A, Post Falls, Hayden, and Rathdrum area projects on the first post on the first page-exactly where they are at right now. I'm planning on putting information on Sandpoint, Silver Valley, and projects from other outlying areas on the first post of the second page.

Here's what I have right now. Is there anything else that should be added to the list? Taken off the list? I don't know about a few of the projects like Black Rock since they're mainly residential single-family developments with golf courses. I woudn't normally post the information, but the development is so large and so costly I think it is kind of newsworthy. What should I do?

Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum area:
1. Parkside
2. Riverstone
3. Kroc Center
4. Post Falls Landing
5. 609 Sherman Lofts
6. The Pointe at Post Falls (Cabela's site)
7. Riverview Tower
8. The Towers at Ridgepointe
9. Northwest Place
10. Club at Black Rock
11. Black Rock Phase 2
12. Bellerive
13. Gozzer Ranch
14. 50,000 seat indoor velodrome/education & technology complex in PF
15. Kootnai Medical Center complex expansion in PF
16. Events/convention center at the fairgrounds
17. $50 million equine development in Rathdrum
18. 5 story $50 million condos on Mill Avenue in Cd'A

Sandpoint, Silver Valley, other areas:
1. University of Idaho at Sandpoint
2. Schweitzer Ski Resort $50 million expansion
3. Silver Mountain Ski Resort golf course and indoor waterpark
4. Crossing at Willow Bay in Sandpoint

Here are a few for Sandpoint.
http://www.seasonsatsandpoint.com/

http://www.doverbayidaho.com/

Thanks Sawtooth. I knew about Dover Bay-just forgot about it.

Do you think I should include projects like these on the development list? I don't know if I want to fill up a page with these types of residential projects (but they are large and expensive).

Maybe Dover Bay, it has a lot of potential.

I know I said that I would update the projects list the other day and I'm usually a man of my word. But, I'm still in the Midwest and an old high school friend came out to visit me tonight and we had dinner and a few drinks.

That's my excuse. I'll let everyone know when I get the projects list updated :cool:

USA Today article about our humble state.

The entire article is at this link:

No end in sight for Idaho's growth

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...#uslPageReturn


BOISE — With all due respect to Phoenix, Las Vegas and Orlando, the heart of American's biggest economic boom is right here in Idaho.
In Idaho, the state with the nation's fastest-growing economy, homebuilding hasn't crashed as it has across much of the USA, and a two-decade run of prosperity continues.

Chalk it up, in large part, to chips — computer chips and potato chips. And to a state whose climate and rugged outdoor beauty are attracting highly mobile, white-collar newcomers who could work or live most anywhere.

Why Idaho?

"We've scored a triple play," Ferguson says, "and two of those plays are chips — computer chips and potato chips."

Semiconductor maker Micron Technology, based in Boise, employs 9,000 and has spawned other high-tech businesses. Hewlett-Packard's printer division is headquartered here, too. Computer-related manufacturing has been the fastest-growing sector in the state's economy over the last decade.

In the field, potato prices are high, which is good news for the nation's No. 1 potato producer. In an era of fast food, the spud is the great American vegetable, especially when fried.

The third ingredient in Idaho's boom has been the "amenities business" — hiking, hunting, fishing, skiing, whitewater rafting — that attracts tourists and new residents, from billionaires to young outdoor enthusiasts.

The federal government owns about two-thirds of the land in Idaho, mostly national forests. The state has 21 million acres of roadless wilderness, about the size of South Carolina and more than any state except Alaska.

The weather's good, too. Coeur d'Alene in northern Idaho has an average low temperature of 22 degrees in January. By comparison, residents of Fargo, N.D., endure average lows of -2 degrees in January, despite a more southerly latitude.

"We've got a true four-seasons climate here, and that makes our business model work," says Jim Spence, vice president of the new 2,100-acre Tamarack Resort in Donnelly, Idaho.

New condos, homes and commercial buildings there have sold out quickly. More are under construction. The national construction slowdown hasn't stopped optimism in Idaho. "We're not postponing anything," Spence says.

Idaho isn't immune to economic bumps. Micron has laid off 1,000 workers since June. Meanwhile, wages statewide average just $32,500 a year, about 75% of the national average. Income inequality has increased as wealthy out-of-staters have moved in, keeping the economy rolling but not driving up overall wages.

Idaho isn't the only place in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest enjoying a boom, says Gary Smith, director of the Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Analysis Project. In Bend, Ore., and Missoula, Mont., imported wealth is remaking the economy.

"What's different about Idaho," he says, "is that it's a whole state."

Aw, I was just going to post the same article. You beat me to it!

As always, it's interesting and frustrating to read some of the comments after the article...I guess ignorance still reigns supreme .

I noticed you didn't put the floor count in your list for the four Riverstone Towers. Weren't they supposed to be 14 floors each? I remember it being mentioned somewhere on this board (maybe the spokane/cda thread).

Also, where within the development are these four towers going? I checked their website and the development map still only shows the location for the original single tower.

Check out post #79 for a map of Riverstone with the 4 towers. I don't remember a specific floor count for the buildings, just the 165' figure for each tower (which would mean 14 floors would be pretty accurate). Let me know if you have a link to an article stating the floor count and I'll change the information on the building list.

I know these towers were proposed a while ago. The last I heard they are still planned and will be built a couple of years from now, so that's why they're still on the list. If I see anything different I'll change the list of course. Same goes for Chesrown's tower. His tower proposal is different from Stone's 4 towers (Chesrown owns land adjacent to Riverstone, but it is not the same property-I think some people get mixed up by this). Chesrown originally proposed a 250 foot tower. Later it was reported that it would be a shorter building (which is needed now anyways since Cd'A has a 220' height limit as of last summer), but no height or floor count was given. Once I get new information I'll change it on the list as well.

The two first Kohl's in the Spokane/Cd'a Area open October 3rd. I don't know if this is significant or if it has been posted here, but whatever. It'll be nice to have more choices though.

Also, I just realized that Riverstone is just a big let down! It is only for the rich and upper class! I know that downtown Cd'A can get kinda ritzy at times, but I just hope that the developers make it into something we all can enjoy. Having a Barnes and Noble will be really cool--I just want them to try to get some shops that will appeal to everyone.

Lastly: Is there anything new on the PF landing? This has the potential to be interesting. I think that that downtown PF really is much to be desired (and yet they do have a d/t, it is basically just Spokane Street). PF just needs more freeway overpasses!

I briefly mentioned Kohl's moving into the area a few months ago. I didn't feel it was super important, but like you said, it will be good to have more options available.

I don't necessarily share your sentiments on Riverstone, but to each his own. They do have the pond and park which is now city property-i.e. for the public to use. The prices of the condos are higher than the average house, but I don't think they are unreasonable. Some of the buyers are from out of the area, as is the case with many developments in this growing region, but there are a number of locals buying there as well.

I haven't heard much of anything about Post Falls Landing, which is very sad since it has about the same POTENTIAL as Riverstone. Riverstone deals well with press releases and advertising to the public, while I think PF Landing could use some sort of PR officer to inundate the public with advertisements and project updates as Riverstone does. Another reason we don't hear much about PF Landing might be funding. The developer, Harry Green, has a good chunk of money, but I don't think he has the capital that Stone has. PF Landing is progressing last time I checked, but not at the same furious pace as Riverstone.

[I just went back to the PF Landing website and it looks like they re-designed and updated it. Looks good!]

Ok, I updated the projects list by deleting completed projects and adding new projects/information/photos. Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, and Rathdrum area projects are on the first post on Page 1 of this thread. Sandpoint, Silver Valley, and St. Maries are on the first post of Page 2 of this thread.

I hope the information is helpful. Let me know if I should add to or delete from the list, or if I have made any errors.

:previous: Thanks for updating us, I really want to make it up to north Idaho some time to check everything out.

It was great to see a picture of Cd'A and the article on Idaho on the front page of USA Today last weekend.

Our city placed highly on another "best" list last week---Cd'A ranked sixth on the "Best Performing Small Cities" index put out annually by the Milken Institute. The index measures metro areas' ability to create and sustain jobs.
Link to list: http://bestcities.milkeninstitute.org/bc179_2007.html

BIG NEWS:
$342 million widening set for U.S. 95---31 mile section of busy highway between Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint to become four lanes
By Jeanne Gustafson
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/d17360a2.jpg
The Idaho Transportation Department is getting ready to submit to the Federal Highway Administration its final environmental impact statement for its planned conversion of 31 miles of U.S. 95 to a four-lane divided highway, says department spokeswoman Barbara Babic.

Once the environmental statement is approved, the way will be paved for the state to start acquiring the necessary rights of way along the first two sections approved for design and construction, she says.

Ultimately, the department will spend about $342 million on the project between Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint beginning with the first two sections, which are in a 12.7-mile stretch of road near Silverwood Theme Park at the north end of Kootenai County.

The department currently has $83 million in funds committed to the project, Babic says.

The parts of the project that are approved for funding are in the Chilco and Athol areas at the northern end of Kootenai County. The department is doing engineering work, to acquire land for right of way and to construct $22 million worth of highway in the area, which extends from U.S. 95’s intersection with state Route 53 north to Ohio Match Road, says Neil Handyside, the design and environmental manager for Connecting Idaho Partners, which is managing the project.

So far, the approved funds cover just the four-lane divided highway, and don’t include the on-ramps and off-ramps at interchange points that eventually will be constructed or the planned local road system improvements around those interchanges, Babic says. Until the Idaho Legislature approves funding for the interchanges, the highway will continue to have at-grade crossings.

Babic says an exit will serve busy Silverwood, though she couldn’t say exactly where it will be. She says the department will pay for that interchange, as it will not be constructed specifically for the theme park, but will be at an appropriate location for an interchange to serve that area.
Link to full article:http://www.spokanejournal.com/spokan...ticle&sub=3333

I drove through there about a month ago and it got pretty bad by once I hit Wild Waters. I'm glad to hear that this is finally happening.

I don't have an article but I knew I read it somewhere, look at post #25 on this thread.

BTW thanks for the info.