Parkside view
SHAWN GUST/Press
COEUR d'ALENE -- Even the first floor of residences in the 20-story Parkside tower provides a broad view of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Tubbs Hill and parts of downtown Coeur d'Alene. From the top, you can see all the way to Sandpoint.
Three floors of the residential units, which begin at the fifth floor above street level, are already occupied, except for the model, and finishing work is under way, with about one floor a week being completed, said Monte Miller of Miller Stauffer Architects, designers and owners of the building that sits on Front Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets.
A large part of the retail and office space is occupied or leased, and only 10 of the 53 residential units are unsold.
"It's right downtown" Miller said. "It is the only product left like this."
Parkside includes 50,000 square feet of commercial space, 40,000 feet of office space, and 10,000 feet of retail.
NightHawk Radiology has moved in to 24,000 feet of the office space on three floors, and North Idaho Title occupies 10,000 square feet. Miller Stauffer will relocate to Parkside from their McEuen Terrace offices across Seventh Street.
On the ground floor, Bakery by the Lake will move in to 2,500 square feet on the east end of the retail plaza.
"It will be an exciting space," Miller said, with convenience foods and other items offered.
Frank Piggot, owner of the Third Street bakery, will keep that facility open for retail sales and as the bake shop for the new location. On Monday, he will open an additional food court on 2,000 square feet on the third level, and another 2,000 feet of patio seating.
"It's going to be a nice place," he said.
Miller would not divulge a name, but said negotiations are under way for a restaurant in 4,000 feet of the retail space designated for that purpose. He would say only that it is not a franchise or chain operation. That facility also includes a large patio dining area that sits 10 feet above the street for a view of the lake.
Still available are a pair of 1,000-square-foot retail spaces.
Also in Parkside is a private fitness club for occupants, along with Parkside Fitness, another facility for the public.
The private club includes large, private cabana-style dressing rooms with showers.
One amenity only visible from the outside from the balcony of Miller Stauffer's McEuen Terrace office is a rooftop putting green and patio that sits atop the third level on the east side.
"It is on the leeward side so it is partly protected from the wind by the tower," said partner Dick Stauffer.
Inside the covered entry on Front Street is an atrium with a concierge office and a bankcda ATM. A digital display screen near the elevator shows scenes of the construction progress, which has been under way for two years.
The $50 million project is slightly behind schedule, and not expected to be fully finished until the fall. It had been scheduled for completion this summer, Miller said. Throughout the progress, he estimates 250 to 300 workers were employed on the project.
Construction began with the digging of a three-level basement parking garage that bottoms out at 2,128 feet -- the exact summer level of the lake only a block away.
There, each condominium owner has a locked two-car garage.
Visitors are treated well, too, with covered parking on much of the lot on the north side, accessible from Seventh and Sixth streets in a drive-through configuration.
Miller Stauffer also has four lots on Sherman Avenue which have served as the construction office and staging area. Miller said they have not determined what will be done with that space, but city code precludes the building of an adjacent high-rise.
Overlooking the atrium, which is decorated with mosaic tiles by Jan Wilhelmi, who also did similar work at the Miller Stauffer-designed Hayden Creek center, is the food court. That will also be available as a reception or meeting facility, Miller said.
Each of the residential floors consists of four condominiums, each 1,900 to 2,400 square feet and with private balconies on opposite corners of the building.
"It is generous, luxury construction," Miller said.
At the top are three penthouse flats of about 4,000 square feet with larger decks. Those are sold, but one additional unit -- the only one with its entrance on the 20th floor since it is on a single level, and the only one with its living room view to the north.
"This is considered to not have the best view, but on a clear day you can see Schweitzer Mountain, and past Sandpoint," Miller said.
It also provides a panoramic view over the city, and to Fernan Lake and the Wolf Lodge end of Lake Coeur d'Alene from its deck, and an extreme bird's eye view of Sherman Avenue.
That 4,100-square-foot unit is still available for $2.5 million, but the remaining units start at $595,000.
Slate floors and thick carpet over seven-inch concrete floors, and large master suites with jetted tubs and walk-in showers and closets are included. Kitchens have commercial-grade six-burner gas stoves with warming lights and high-volume exhaust fans, plus built-in refrigerators with filtered water and touch-screen stacked ranges.
Rooms are prewired for 6.1 surround sound and for total home automation, including intelligent security features, phone and data.
High-efficiency heating and cooling is achieved with a closed-loop water and heat-pump system. On-demand gas water heaters are also used.
"It's for the lifestyle of the owners, who travel a lot," Miller said.
Granite, marble and fireplaces are also featured in the units.
Parkside has been a five-year project from concept to completion, Stauffer said. Early on, all the units were booked, allowing prospects to cancel purchases without penalty.
"Fallout was not that bad," he said, even as some segments of the real estate market faltered.
Asked it they would do it again, he said the answer is complex.
"Any time you do a project like this it takes five years, and when it's done the market is not the same," Stauffer said. "The high-end market is not as soft as the rest."
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