Bi-Plane Brewing Co.

Tonight I noticed in my recent post about the up and coming beer industry in the Spokane area I accidently left off Bi-Plane Brewing Co. which opened this last year in Post Falls at 4082 E. Primrose Lane in the same strip mall as Subway and Starbucks and facing Hwy 41.Bi-Plane seems to be enjoying some success with their product that includes 5 craft beer produced in house and 3 dollar pints on Sunday.

R.I.P Rathdrum Star

Part of why I started doing this blog was to point out to everyone who is so down on the Inland Northwest less then ideal economy that there is still new jobs being created and new business opening, so it always is a sad moment to write of a recently closed business but this one seems to be a bit sader then usual as Wednesday's Rathdrum Star was the last issue for the small weekly newspaper that has been in print for a little more then 7 years.The paper had a circulation of 10,100 and was a fun read because it feature mostly local stories and was good source of info for the Rathdrum area however due to increaseing costs to mail the paper and few advertisers willing to purchance ad space in today's economy Publisher Tom Burnett decided now was good time to retire a close the Rathdrum Star.All good things must come to end I suppose but The Rathdrum Star will be missed.

Welcome

A lot of you are new to my blog so i'd just like to issue a few reminders.First off i'm not a professional by any means so please bear with me if my grammer,spelling and punctuation may be a bit off at times.Second anyone is welcome to give me tips,add their two cents,etc... My 2 e-mail address are mjbehri@gmail.com or inlandbusiness@yahoo.com and lastly please also like this blog on Facebook,I hope to do more with Facebook in the near future but if not a lot of people go onto my page it'll be harder,so please visit my page at...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inland-Northwest-Business-Watch/163064547117641

Your also welcome to post to the Facebook page about your event or business.And thank you all for reading this,Have a great weekend and a Happy New Year.

Update Dec. 29th 2011

Due to time constraints just a brief update tonight...

Ciao Mambo Restaurant in the Hayden Creek shopping center near the intersection of Prairie Ave and Government Way has unfortunately closed but to make up for the closure of Ciao Mambo the owning party Montana based Glacier Resturant Group will expand their Mackenzie River Pizza Co. restaurant in Coeur d Alene in 2012,adding a pub and grill to the existing gourmet pizza resturant.

While the owner boasts many years experience selling Satellite TV via Dish Network his business in Post Falls is new,Full Circle Satellite opened recently in Post Falls at 606 E. Seltice Way near Walgreens .

Advanced Aesthetics,MD is opening a new office in Downtown Spokane located at 522 W. Riverside Suite 202.

Coeur d Alene's Black Sheep Sporting Goods and Timberline which is by the same owner and in Silver Lake Mall have joined forces to open a new clearance store in Coeur d Alene at 7419 N Government Way which Coeur d Alene residents may remember as the former Complete Suite Furniture which moved to along Hwy 95.The Black Sheep store offers many great discounts and will most likely be similar to a clearance store Black Sheep had operated in Sandpoint until Big R took over their lease there.

The El Chiludo Taco Truck has a new home in Coeur d Alene in the parking lot of the Appleway Car Wash along Appleway and across from Lowe's.

The Robert Crick Law Firm,PLLC has moved into Downtown Spokane at the Paulsen Center.The office is in 421 W. Riverside Suite 1555.

Spokane Fireplace and Patio has closed and had been in Spokane at 27 W. Boone Ave.

Kokanee Coffee is a brand new coffee shop that opened recently in Sandpoint at 509 N 5th Ave. Suite A.

Dave Clark Realty in Coeur d Alene has gone out of business.

Grand Coulee Dam to bring jobs in 2012 to Eastern Washington

The Bonneville Power Administration has announced they plan to upgrade and put in a new 500 volt underground transmitting line from Eastern Washington's Grand Coulee Dam during 2012 and beginning as soon as February.During the construction the nearby highway and park may need to be closed for short periods of time but the dam's famous laser light show in the evening hours will not be interupted.The news of the project is great for jobs because the BPA estimates it will create dozens of construction jobs for a part of Washington that could use the good paying jobs.

Update Dec. 28th 2011

Coeur d Alene will get a Marriott Spring Hill Suites in 2013 as a
sister property of and next to the Holiday Inn Express on Seltice Way
near NW Blvd.

Curve's has closed their fitness facility at 410 E. Holland in North
Spokane.

 Landers Insurance in Coeur d Alene has moved to 816 E Sherman Ave.

Babes and Beaus is a new salon open in Spokane located at 1229 W. Northwest
Blvd.

Davinci Teeth Whitening has opened recently in Coeur d Alene's Silver Lake Mall.

Mezzo Pazzo Wine Bar is now open on the Spokane South
Hill at 2718 E. 57th in Regal Place.

Spice Trader Mercantile has opened in Spokane Valley at the same location as Plantland at 15614 E Sprague Ave. The store has 1,000 sq. feet of Spices,Oils and Northwest Wines and Microbrews.

A new Senior Independent Suites offering Senior citizen housing at a affordable rate is now open in Spokane Valley on S. Raymond between 9th and 10th.

Gameworld is new gaming store is Spokane Valley offering to buy,sell and trade games and movies from their store which also has a 20 station gaming center in store at 5725 E. Sprague Suite B next to Big 5 Sporting Goods

Riverstone West Family Apartments

One of the more obvious construction projects in Coeur d' Alene this
winter has been The Riverstone West Family Apartments,And they are now
nearing completion adding 50 new apartments to Coeur d Alene when they
open in mid January.Some of the units are rentals at a market rate but
most are income based renting at 468 for 1 bed,557 for 2 bed and 638
for a 3 bedroom unit.Riverstone West will be rare in offering Spokane
River views,a on site laundry and community room/on site office plus a
storage unit for each apartment.Riverstone West Apartments are located
in Coeur d Alene's Riverstone development in the 2200 blk of John Loop
and will be renting soon which is needed in Coeur d Alene's low income
apartment market,For info on Riverstone West Apartments contact Maria
Cooper of Whitewater Creek at 208-769-7301

Happy Holidays

Happy holidays from inbw!

Update Dec. 20th 2011

Dr. Amy Spoelstra and her Spoelstra Family Chiropractic has moved their office from Post Falls to Coeur d Alene by J Miller Salon,The clinic's address is 370 E. Kathleen Ave

Triple S Surplus and Survival has opened at 9422 N Goverment Way in Hayden.

Rasmussen Sports Training has leased 5,900 sq. feet at 1116 E. Sherman in Coeur d Alene with plans to move their from 7791 N Aqua Cir.

BrettHand Inc which is a manufacturing company for foam fingers and other licensed novilty items has moved into a new larger space in the Spokane Industrial Park in Spokane Valley at 9516 E. Montgomery Building 14

Copper Hills Apartments are almost done off of 44th Ave behind Shopko on the South Hill.

Auntie Linda's Quilt Shop is closing,they had been located at 8948 E. Scout Trail in Athol.

Mead Pawn is becoming The Mead Thrift Store,They are located at 12112 N. Market in Mead.

Northwest Blinds is a new blind business open in Hayden at 10183 N Aero Dr. Suite 5 Hayden.

Message Envy Spa is open in North Spokane at 920 E Hoerner Suite 101 .They are in 4,500 sq feet and employ 30

Port of Lewiston reveals revenue from Imperial Oil

The Port of Lewiston has released an audit that shows the The Port has netted approx. 500,000 dollars from Imperial Oil's Megaload's during the fiscal year that ended June 30th. The report also shows 400,000 dollars worth of expenses related to the Megaloads.The loads are owned by Imperial Oil coming inland to Lewiston from Korea and then shipped by truck to The Kearl Oil Sands Project in Alberta,Canada.The loads head out of Lewiston on US 12 towards Lolo Pass  and north to Coeur d Alene via US 95 thru Moscow.Some megaloads may be coming thru Spokane soon too as the City of Spokane has received a request for megaloads coming thru via I-90.The Imperial Oil megaloads have been in the news so much lately due to the possible environmental disasters.People for the megasloads argue that the economy of the Inland Northwest needs the loads and the large crews that come with them spending money in the cities they enter.

Hecla Mining buys remaining 30% of San Juan Silver Project.

Coeur d Alene based Hecla Mining has purchased the remaining 30% of the San Juan Silver Project in Colorado's silver districts,The Creede Silver District.The San Juan has over 20 miles of veins and has produced of 37 million ounces of silver .The Hecla deal also includes all buildings on property as well as the Mine and Mine ramp.Hecla who trades as HL has seen gains on the market since the announcement of the sale.

Jensen Byrd Building sold to Campus Advantage

A Spokane landmark owned by Washington State University,The Jensen Byrd Building in Spokane's University District has been sold to Campus Advantage a Austin,Tx. based firm that manages student housing units near universities and colleges thru-out the nation.Currently Campus Advantage has properties in 21 states.The project the plan for the site will be student housing with some ground floor retail space,the project is 125 units with 425 beds and shared bathrooms and common spaces similar to dorms.Campus Advantage purchased the Jensen-Byrd from Washington State University for 2.85 Million Dollars which falls with-in fair market value for the property.Now for the the bad news,The building which was built in 1909 will be torn down and re-placed with a new structure to be built beginning in the summer of 2012 and ready for occupancy in the fall of 2013,the new building to replace the Jensen-Byrd will be a 5 story stucture.While the project is welcome in terms of jobs and new housing in Downtown Spokane it is sad a landmark like the Jensen-Byrd could not be saved.Washington State University had attempted to sell the building to Spokane Developer Ron Wells some time back but that deal fell thru in the end.

Update Dec. 15th 2011

Just a brief update today....

Atlas Staffing is a staffing firm that opened recently in Spokane Valley at 9119 E. Boone Suite B.

Eyeguys Optical is under construction and opening soon in Hayden on Cornerstone Dr. but facing Hwy 95
in between the Hayden Wal-Mart at Prairie Ave intersection.

Rokko's Teriaki and BBQ is opening soon at 506 1st Ave in Cheney.

Jobs sites have started getting postings for a new Camping World store opening in Liberty Lake at 19651 E. Cataldo Ave in Liberty Lake,Camping World is mostly an RV dealership but also sells accessories and does RV service.The site Camping World will go into was the Mastercraft Dealership,Washington Water Sports that went out of business.

The Coeur d Alene Perkins Resturant on Appleway near Hwy 95 has now closed.

Marcella's Bridal in Downtown Spokane is expanding by adding 1,500 sq. feet to their site at 304 W 2nd Ave.

Did you know?

Next time you jump on a roller coaster or water ride at one of many Amusement Parks including some international parks, that ride may have been built by a Hayden,Id. based company  called Rocky Mountain Construction who's offices are located at 11470 Carisa Ct. in Hayden.Rocky Mountain Construction has also built exhibits for zoo's including Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo and The National Zoo in Washington,DC.More close to home they have also built popular rides at Athol's Silverwood Amusement Park.For more on Rocky Mountain Construction you can check them out at....http://www.rockymtnconstruction.com

New Jersey Mining Co. expanding mill near Kellogg

New Jersey Mining company is now most of the way complete on their mill expansion which is a joint venture between New Jersey Mining and United Silver.The mill treats ore from the Golden Chest Mine and the Crescent Mine.Currently the mill can handle 100 tons of ore a day but with the expansion the mill will handle 400 tons of ore.They will also re-build the crushing plant and add a ball mill.The expansion worth 2.5 million dollars will be complete by the end of 2011 according the New Jersey Mining but will not be operating at full capacity till sometime in the middle of 2012.

The beers of Spokane

Being positioned close to the Walla Walla valley and arid Columbia River Valley has made Spokane's wines a hit and made wine a growing sector of the Spokane economy.But Spokane's beers cannot be ignored,new breweries are poping up and fast.I'm sure part of the beer craze has been to due with the state of the economy as the poorer the people get the more beer and the like are consumed but this is one spot where I hope the economy stays bad for a little while longer as Spokane's wineries are great but it's brewhouses are deserving of their day too.Spokane has it's long time brewery in Northern Lights Brewery at 1003 E Trent Ave. near Gonzaga and in the Riverwalk shopping center,Their products are also sold in many local grocery stores and also The Coeur d Alene Brewing Company which had been in Coeur d Alene till their landlord would not renew their lease in favor of his restaurant,Seasons of Coeur d Alene which ended up taking the brewery's former home.Today Coeur d Alene's beers are harder to find as they are made and sold from The Steam Plant Grill Restaurant in Downtown Spokane.But Spokane has been buzzing with new beers,even one winery is getting in on the beer buzz(pun intended) as Arbor Crest Winery plans to make 2 microbrews at their iconic Winery next year overlooking Spokane Valley.Other beer makers in Spokane that have begun recently are..Golden Hills Brewery located at 12921 W 17th in Airway Heights,They have no walk-in location or taproom that I know of but can be found in many of Spokane's bars including The Q at Northern Quest Casino,I've only had one of Golden Hills brews but on a personal level I would recommend.Another Brewery is Budge Bros. Brewery at 2018 E. Riverside Suite 1 in the International District(formerly the East Central neighborhood ) they do have a walk-in site and offer a beer called Spokamber Ale among others,I have yet to find their beers in a store but are another new business that should be in Spokane for awhile.And then there is the reason why i'm ranting on about local beer today because this is the opening weekend for Spokane Valley's new 12 String Brewing Co. located at 11616 E Montgomery Ave Suite 26 in Spokane Valley they do have a taproom and several bars in Spokane are supposed to be selling their beers.
But all this talk of Spokane's many new breweries makes one remember that beer is still growing in North Idaho as well,a recent Coeur d Alene Press article pointed out the success of Sandpoint's Laughing Dog Brewery at 1109 Fontaine Blvd in Ponderay,Their beers seem to be everywhere now and they have only been open since 2005 proving the beer is a hot industry.Also in North Idaho will be Selkirk Abbey Brewing at 6180 E. Seltice Way,I know little of them but their Twitter feed does say they will have a taproom.Wallace Brewing in Wallace has enjoyed growth as well and some of there products now appear in bottles at some grocery stores in North Idaho and North Idaho Mountain Brewery is also new and in Wallace at 108 Nine Mile Rd. They are within The City Limits Pub.
Beer is big business for Spokane and the region and hopfully all these new businesses will help put Spokane even more on the map.

Did you know?

Today we begin a new feature on this blog called,Did you know? I always find myself finding out things made in Spokane and the area or something that happened,etc... that is not readily known so I figured i'd share some periodically.And now the first one...

Did you know several common place juice brands,such as Citrus Sunshine Orange Juice and Washington Natural Apple Juice are in face packaged and are products of a company in Spokane.The company is Joanna Beverage Company and their facility is located at 5625 Thorpe Rd. on the West Plains near Spokane International Airport.

Update Dec 9th 2011

Tonight is the first night Post Falls's Kc's Breakfast Club resturant is open for dinner as well as their usual breakfast and lunch,They are now open 5-9pm on friday and saturday for dinner as offer a 13.95 prime rib special.

Needful Things is a new shop selling consigned furniture,decor and more items from their store at 1802 E Sprague Ave and will be open on Sat. Dec. 10th and the 9am.

Offering photography and video services for all occations is New Avenue Studios in the Treaty Rock Center in Post Falls on Seltice near Blue Dog Rv and the intersection of Chase Rd.

They have been open for a couple months now but they are still new and in my own independent opinion have the best cupcakes in the Inland Northwest,Love at First Bite sells many different kinds of cupcakes with flavors changing daily.They are located at 11305 E. Sprague in Spokane Valley near Sprague and Bowdish.

3 very experienced have merged together to form North Idaho Dental Group in a 3,000 sq. foot site at 2165 N. Merritt Creek Lp in Coeur d Alene.

The newest location of Mackenzie River Pizza Company opened recently at 2910 E. 57th Ave  by the Albertson's at 57th and Regal.

Offering items and pieces of art from local artisians is The Heart of Spokane which just opened in early dec. at 2910 N Monroe St in Spokane.

Treasure Trove is a brand new business selling apparel, accessories , home decor and gifts they are located at 12415 E. 1st Ave. in Spokane Valley.

Boardwalk Boutique which has been in Coeur d Alene at Riverstone for a while now has expanded to a second store in Downtown Coeur d Alene inside the Resort Plaza Shops in the former Cisco's II Antique Store which consoltated with their store on 4th in Coeur d Alene.

A new store in Northtown Mall in North Spokane is Fuego.They sell a bit of everything like clothes,gifts and novlities from there store at the west entry by The Mustard Seed.

A new Sprint retail store opened recently by the new Williams Seafood and Wines on Ruby St and Foothills in Spokane.

Selling signs and other man cave decorations is the job of what I believe is a seasonal store in Northtown Mall called,Man Cave.

Post Falls's famous resturant,The White House Grill which also owns The West Wing Resturant in Spokane on the south hill has parked their food truck which was a famous staple selling White House's garlic heavy dishes from various events and at Greenbluff,at the corner of Division and Dalke(6020 N Division) in a vacant parking lot and are calling it The Garlic Mobile.The menu is limited but staff says as business grows so will the menu.

This weekend is the grand opening of Wendle Ford's 3rd showroom at The Y in North Spokane.The new showroom is to sell the Infinity car line.

Lovers,a romance chain has opened it's newest store in Spokane Valley at 13917 E. Sprague.

Perkins at Division and Central Ave. has closed after 35 years in business.

Bozzi Media is canceling printing it's Spokane Family Magazine but is expanding by begining to print a new magazine called Spokane CDA Woman Magazine ,which will be geared towards local women.

Canfield Family Medicine has moved into their new home in Coeur d Alene at 1110 Park Pl suite 202 off of Lakewood.

Almost all malls in the area have their seasonal Kopter Krazy remote control helicopter kiosk's open.

Preliminary work is now underway for a new elementary school in Cheney at 6323 S Holley Rd.

Selling scrapbook supplies and and other albums is the job of new business Accent Albums at 7791 Aqua Cir. in Coeur d Alene.

Home Instead Senior Care is now at 500 N. Government Way suite 500 in Coeur d Alene.

Update Dec. 8th 2011 -- Continued

Laser Dentistry of Coeur d Alene is a new dentist's office is Coeur d Alene near Kootenai Medical Center on Ironwood.

D&B Farm and Home which had locations in Coeur d Alene and Lewiston has been sold and has already been converted to it's new owner Big R Stores.The Coeur d Alene store is near the corner of Kathleen Ave. and Government Way.Because the 2 companies are so similar the staff and inventory remain the same.

Vitality Health and Fitness is now open in Coeur d Alene selling fitness mechines,etc..Their location is near the corner of Hwy 95 and Hanley with their address and entry off of Sunshine St.

Atlas Electric is moving it's sales department and some manufacturing into a new building is Spokane Valley at the corner of Havana and Boone.

A new T-Mobile retail store is open in North Spokane at 8018 N Division by Pawn 1 and the northside Hauppin's store.

I'm not sure when but the Appleway Laudromat on Appleway just down from the Hwy 95 intersection appears to have closed as they now have for lease signs in the windows.

Mellissa's Nails is a new nail salon open at 1921 NW Blvd. in Spokane.

Sporting a new bold paint job and new owners is the new Atomic Java coffee drive thru on 5th Ave just down from Pleasent View Rd. and near Flying J in Post Falls

Sports World Training Center is a new place to train for sports and use batting cages,etc. They are in Post Falls behind Kids World day care along Seltice near I-90/Hwy 41 interchange.

Truckland is back is what all the ad's say for the re-opened Truckland truck dealership at 7004 E Sprague Ave. in Spokane Valley.They are a part of the Discovery Dealership team from Moses Lake.

Greenacres Motors has eather moved back to Post Falls or opened a second store in Post Falls as they now have a lot in State Line by the El Patio Bar and Grill on Seltice Way.

United Tile has opened a new showroom in Spokane at 622 E. 2nd Ave.

The Post Falls Caruso's sandwhich shop has closed siteing declining sales,The other Caruso's locations remain open.

Mullan House Bed and Breakfast is now open in Mullan,Id. near Lookout Pass,They offer 6 guest rooms.

And last by not least I love it when I find a new business so I was happy to find Marsells Cakes and Desserts open at 920 N Division in Spokane but apartently I don't always pay the closest attention as a quick facebook search shows they opened back at the end of June.They sell cakes,cupcake,cookies,brownies and espresso.And it's business like Marsells Cakes and Desserts that I ask of you if you see a new business please let me know so I can share with my readers(both of you:) ) my e-mail is inlandbusiness@yahoo.com or search for the blog name on Facebook.Thanks!

Bonner General Hospital to expand

Sandpoint's Bonner General Hospital is planning to expand onto it's new downtown lot that was partly the site of Taylor and Sons Chevy dealership before they moved to a site in Ponderay.The all new facility will be 40,000 sq. feet and 2 stories,The hospital's marketing,community development,home health,patient pre-registration,hospice care,education,accounting,business and out patient rehab office will all move into the new space as well as some leased out space which will be avilable on the first floor of the new building.The land was purchased by Bonner General Hospital in June and is at the corner of Cedar and Third Ave in Downtown Sandpoint.

Update Dec 8th 2011

Just a brief update,more to come soon...

Coco Boutique a clothing store that has been on the second floor of the Spokane Valley Mall has opened a new 2nd location at 2933 E. 29th Ave on the South Hill in Spokane.

GNC has opened a new store in Airway Heights at 10414 W. Hwy 2 Suite 7

I'm not sure how long ago by the Black Pearl Resturant and Card Room opened not long ago near I-90 and Pines in Spokane Valley.Their address is 2104 N. Pines Rd.

Mo' Style Salon is a new hair salon featuring hair styling for all hair type and specializing in ethnic hair and doing relaxers,cornrows and braids.They accept walk-ins and are located 20 E. Indiana Ave in Spokane.

Forever Fit is a fitness center moving into Pines Town Center at 1509 N. Pines in Spokane Valley.

Community Connections which helps people with disablities has opened an office in Coeur d Alene on the office park access road to Outback Steakhouse,along Ironwood.

Skin Deep which is a cosmetic store that had been in the Resort Plaza Shops at the Coeur d Alene resort has moved into their new store in the center court of Silver Lake Mall.They sell many upscale cosmetic brands.

Exbablyon Professional IT Solutions is opening in the same strip mall as Jimmy John's facing Hwy. 95 but on Cornerstone Dr. in Hayden.

More coming hopfully later today...

Got a tip? I want it! e-mail me at inlandbusiness@yahoo.com

Outotec to purchase Energy Products of Idaho

Energy Products of Idaho is a Coeur d Alene based company with their home office located at 3568 Industrial Loop in Coeur d Alene has been purchased by a company called Outotec out of Espoo,Finland but with offices already in the United States.Energy Products of Idaho works in the biomass and difficult combustion industry(waste to energy) and has delivered over 100 renewable energy solutions.I can only find a sale price in Euro's but that figure is 43 million EU and an additional 25 million EU max. based on Energy Products performance in 2012 and 2013.No word on jobs but I can assume no lay-offs but no new jobs eather.

Providence Health moving 250 jobs to Spokane

Big job news today for Spokane as Providence Health Services,The same group that operates both Sacred Heart Hospital and Holy Family Hospital as well as some clinics and office centers all in Spokane has announced it will move 250 medical billing jobs to Spokane from their headquarters in Renton,Wa. The move is expected to happen within the next 60 days and Providence is now working on finding the office space for the 250 new workers.The billing department will be a hub for all billing done by Providence in the 5 state region on the Northwest that they serve.

A new business comes to town with an answer to a reported scam.

Over the last month or so people in Coeur d' Alene and the surrounding area have been reporting people coming door to door concerning a company going around asking people to purchase their energy conservation products,Even at one point making Avista issue a statement on the issue and clearing the air that they we're not to blame and that the salespeople had used a claim that if the home owner purchased the conservation product they would qualify for a rebate from Avista something Avista assures in the same press release that only Avista employees can promise such rebates.That all said we now know the door to door sales people are from a new company that just opened in Coeur d Alene called Rocky Mountian Insulation and their new Coeur d' Alene office is at 840 E. Best Ave .They employ 9 and will continue to be out in the Coeur d Alene area going door to door selling Insulation.On a personal level I just hope they work on their sales pitch a bit,ok a lot....But I wish them luck.

A bank that's growing?!?

Spokane based AmericanWest Bank has had a good year near as I can tell as the Bank just finished up it's purchase of Viking Bank which is a bank in the Puget Sound Region,The deal gives AmericanWest 7 new branches and cost AmericanWest about 7.2 million dollars. AmericanWest also recently made a larger bank purchase with Sunrise Bank of Southern California,That deal was worth 18.5 million and they also bought The Bank of the Northwest which is in Bellevue,Wash. for 17 Million .

Kootenai River Inn Casino and Spa

Congratulations are in order for The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho's Kootenai River Inn Casino and Spa and the attached Best Western Plus Hotel which is all managed on the Tribe's behalf by The Hagadone Hospitality Corp. .The Bonner's Ferry casino is celebrating their 25th anniversary this Dec. 2011 .The casino has paid out almost 1 billion dollars since it opened in 1995, Has had around a million guests and is the number 1 private employer for Boundary County,Idaho. The casino also features a restaurant and spa and the entire property is popular among tourists and locals alike from nearby British Columbia and Alberta,Canada. I recommend taking the drive north from Spokane or Coeur d Alene to pay the Kootenai River Inn a visit this December to support them as a local business and employer.

Ross Aviation

Denver,Colo. based Ross Aviation is buying out the big fixed based operators at Spokane International Airport,Those Companies are Spokane Airways and XN Air,Both have provided GEG with essential aircraft services such as fuel,repairs and charter services and in  Spokane Airways case freight handling services for companies such as UPS from Spokane International for some time. Over 40 years for Spokane Airways and since 2004 for XN Air. Ross Aviation plans to complete the deal in early 2012 and soon after combine the 2 operators into 1.The terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed.

Clearwater Paper's Lewiston Mill sale complete

It's finished,Clearwater Paper has completed the sale of their mill in Lewiston to Idaho Forest Group which is a Coeur d' Alene based company.The transaction was for 30 million dollars.

Update Dec 1st 2011

I can't belive it's December already,Hope your all having a great holiday season so far....Now,here is some news....

Primer Urgent Care which is a branch company off of Northwest Specialty Hospital in Post Falls has been airing a radio ad saying they will open a 2nd urgent care location in early 2012 at 315 W. Dalton Ave. in Coeur d Alene which is the Dalton Professional Building and home to Discount Communtions,a regional Dish Network reseller.

I'm not sure when exactly it opened but I noticed a new cell phone acc. kiosk in Spokane Valley Mall's center court called,Cellaris.

Popular North Idaho blogger of Get Out North Idaho has started his own business with relylocal.com .The site is a portal site for info on Coeur d' Alene and things to do and business to shop at.

Crafty Cravings is a new decor and gift shop located in Post Falls along Seltice Way in the same strip mall as Upscale Mail.

Probably the biggest news in Spokane Valley business wise is the new Wal-Mart will be breaking ground soon.The store will take about a year start to finish so look for it to open next fall.The store is to be located at 5025 E. Sprague Ave which is next to Costco.Some may remember the site as it was at one time proposed to be a Sam's Club but Wal-Mart has chosen to scale back it's Sam's Club expansions.This is good news since it will hopfully get some of the crowds down at the exsisting Valley Wal-mart on Broadway near Sullivan Rd.

It's offical the site near Frontier Ice Arena along Seltice Way inbetween Coeur d Alene and Post Falls will be a large apartment complex and work is already well underway.The site will be 9 4 -story buildings housing a total of 120 units and a clubhouse with commercial lots out front along Seltice Way.The name is to be Mill River Aparments.

Sacred Heart Hospital is expanding it's ER department and moving some things around to accomplish it.They have already broken ground and plan to have the new are open late next year.The expansion includes a new children's ER area and new entry.It's funded in part by a 3 million dollar donation by Mark Rypkin who was a Washington Redskins player and former Super Bowl MVP.The expansion is to be about 4,000 new square feet and will need about 300 construction jobs.

I'm not sure how new they are but I noticed cpr4work.com has opened their offices in the office suites above Koener's Furniture along Hwy 95 at Dalton Ave in Coeur d Alene.

Big news for the tiny town of State Line,Id. as the bridge over the Spokane River is finally back open with an all new span.It looks very nice and will finally get some of the former traffic flows back thru the small town which is the way to access the Post Falls Cabela's store/Wal-Mart and several other bars and stores.

Smokin' Legal Anywhere which is store the sells e-cigs has a new location at 9301 N. Division Ave Suite A which is just north of KFC.

Grandma Zula's Kitchen is the name of the new restuant in Post Falls that the owners say offers home cooking and the feel of walking into you Grandma's Kitchen.The site is 306 N Spokane St Suite K and has most recently been The Wooden Shoe Eatery and Milltown Grill.

Panda Express is building a new building at 5016 E. Sprague Ave in Spokane Valley their will also be a new small strip mall nearby their new resturant.

Sparrow Boutique and Jewelry Bar is a new business open at 915 E. Hawthorne Suite B in North Spokane.

For the holiday season a kiosk selling Eastern Washington University gifts and memorabilia will be in River Park Square in Downtown Spokane.

If your looking for daycare for a senior citizen a new one has just opened in Hayden,The name is Merry Lane Home and is just 7.50 an hour.The home is located at 1025 Forrest Park Ln.

Parkway Auto Center from Deer Park has expanded to Spokane with a new liquation dealership located at 28 E. Montgomery near the interection of Ruby and Montgomery.

Spokane Valley Meals on Wheels has expanded their offices and warehouse space to a new site at 12101 E Sprague Ave.

Apperently opening last Summer was Destiny Clothing which is a full men's and women's clothing store near Northtown Mall at 114 E Wellesley Ave.

Local artist Ed Gilmore has opened a new gallery in Downtown Spokane called Studio 66 Art Gallery and it is located at 104 S. Division,near where Sprague and Division meet.

MartinelliMick PLLC is a new full service accounting firm that opened in the Rock Pointe Tower at 316 W Boone Ave in Spokane.They do audits,reviews and other tax services.

Walgreen's is planning on building a new store directly on Hamilton Ave. near the Gonzaga Campus.

Big news from Liberty Lake as Liberty Mutual Insurance is taking over and remodeling for their use roughly 100,000 sq. feet of Greenstone's Meadowwood Tech. Campus along Molter Rd. in Liberty Lake.The site should be in business next year.

Communtity Health Assoiation of Spokane is doing a remodel of it's clinic located at 3919 N Maple in Spokane.

And last but not least for today,The Post Falls Theather in Post Falls on Seltice Way is as of tommorrow becoming a discount theather with second run movies and an admission cost of just 2 dollars.The change is due to the owner needing to buy a 800,000 dollar digital projector system which he could not afford in today's ecomomy.To start to new discount format all movies on the saturday are free!

Boeing rejects Spokane's bid

INBW has recived some news that Boeing has chosen Renton for their new Boeing 737 MAX Jet production line,passing over Spokane and it's sites near Spokane International Airport on the West Plains.The good news of this is that this new Boeing product will remain a Washington made product and that some of the suppilers for this new jet may locate in the Spokane area.This is a setback but it will not deter the Spokane officals working on this so called "Project Pegasus" as I have heard their is another aerospace company that the officals involved are still wooing.

Spokane to land Boeing?

It's been known for a while now that Boeing has been looking for a new spot for it's new Boeing 737 Max production line and it was recently announced that Boeing was interested in Eastern Washington as at site and now i've learned Spokane has been chosen as the number 2 spot of the list of potential sites,If Spokane we're to be chosen it would be some of the biggest moves job wise for Spokane in a while.The Boeing site would be in the West Plains most likely which has abundant land and resources for a large business including being the site of Spokane International Airport  and Fairchild Air Force Base .Spokane County has moved up it's height limits on the west plains to woo companies like Spokane and worked not long ago for the new massive Caterpillar Dist. Center which is now under construction we will be watching and hoping on this one as it would help the region out.The number 1 choice by the way is Everett which is more local for Boeing but may not be able to offer the room for expansion that Spokane does.

Avista subsidiary to buy company in Atlanta,Ga.

Spokane based Avista Corp's subsidiary, Ecova Inc. which was formerly known as Advantage IQ has announced they intend to purchase Prenova Inc. of Atlanta,Ga which is an energy management company and the deal is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Update Nov. 19th 2011

Eau De Vie is a new wine shop in Liberty Lake by Hay J's Bistro and Conoco at where I-90 meets Harvard Rd.

Freedom by Toni is a bail bonds place that opened not long ago in the Courthouse Plaza on Government Way in Coeur d Alene,near the Kootenai County Courthouse.

I'm not sure it's new but I noticed Palace Property Management in the Harbor Plaza in Coeur d Alene which is along Northwest Blvd and Hubbard Ave.

GVD Commercial is planning a small strip mall at 426 E. Hastings Ave. which is in North Spokane's Wandermere area.

The Spokane Humane Society is building a new Spay and Neuter Clinic at their exsisting shelter at 6607 N. Havana Ave.

Associated Painters which is company that hasn't even been in Spokane very long and paints aircraft at it's site in the Business Park at Spokane International Airport is now planning to build a 2nd hanger so that they can get thru a backlog of work.

The Bloomsday Race's offices are consolidating into a new building at 1414 N. Belt in Spokane's West Central Neighborhood and will include offices and warehouse space.

United States Customs and Border Protection is building a brand new 3 building complex near Bonners Ferry  and also some other near border sites in Washington.

The Pink Spot is new espresso drive thru is opening on or near Nov. 30th in Coeur d Alene along Goverment Way north of Appleway.

Historian Robert Singletary has come out of retirement to open Heritage Unlimited at 213 W. Appleway #5 in Coeur d Alene offering classes in history and music as well bus and walking tours of local historical sites.A division of the business is The Heritage Mercantile which is next door in with the framing shop in suite 4 which is a small antique and art store.

River City Hospice in Post Falls is experiencing rapid growth and has announced they plan to build at "Hospice House" at a site to be determined in Post Falls,Hospice of North Idaho also opening a home last summer on Prairie Ave in Hayden.

Studio 33 Photography has opened in Coeur d Alene at 611 E. Sherman Ave.

Knead n' Dough Bakery is now open in Athol and is a full service bakery at 5787 W. Hwy 54.

A new Weight Watchers has gone into Evergreen Crossings which is the strip mall with Hobby Lobby,Fred's Appliance,etc... at Indiana and Evergreen in Spokane Valley

The Invisible Fence office in unit 114 of Harbor Plaza on Northwest Blvd. in Coeur d Alene has now added all kinds of dog supplies and re-named their store Coeur d Alene Dog Company,And they do still sell Invisible Fence products.

Also now open in Coeur d Alene's Harbor Plaza is Vivid Tattoo and Art which is in suite 106.

A fitness facility called Farmgirl Fit is opening soon located in Spokane at 128 S Sherman.

Downtown Coeur d Alene is getting a new restaurant soon with Scrud's Gourmet Grub at 206 N 4th Ave. their menu in the window shows they will have a challenge and a waiver required 5 pound stuffed burger.

The Seasonal store Stocking Tree which has many gift items and local items is opening at Silver Lake Mall in Coeur d Alene

Sweet Frostings is a new full service bake shop and cupcake shop in Downtown Spokane at 15 S. Washington .

The Bajio Mexican Grill in Northtown Square along N. Division by Northtown Mall and Wellesley Ave. became on ,Sept 2nd, a Costa Vida Cafe which is also a Mexican grill restaurant.The address is 4805 N Division #102.

Super 1 Foods is breaking ground on a new store in Bonners Ferry which will be near the corner of Main and Hwy 95,The store will employ 85.

Opening soon is a business with an interesting name.The University of Spokamsterdam is opening near Downtown Spokane and will provide education on Medical Marijuana and the growing of the it.









  

One more piece of the US 395 puzzle opens tomorrow

The North Spokane Corridor freeway project is making a big leap forward tomorrow,Wed. Nov 16th 2011 with the opening of the new exit/entry to the roadway from Highway 2,this will allow traffic on route 2 to flow right directly onto the highway and eliminate some of the congestion in places like the Y.Here is the press release from The Washington Dept. of Transportation.

 Date:  Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Contact: Al Gilson, Communications Manager
WSDOT Eastern Region
2714 N. Mayfair
Spokane, WA  99207
509-324-6015
gilsona@wsdot.wa.gov

A new US 2 interchange opens Wednesday, Nov. 16, on the North Spokane Corridor (NSC) just north of Spokane. “Now drivers can make a smoother, safer transition between these two major highways,” said Regional Administrator Keith Metcalf of the Washington State Department of Transportation. “We’re another step closer to getting the northern five miles of the NSC fully built.”

Contractor crews working for the WSDOT built five new vehicle bridges and one pedestrian-bicycle bridge along the NSC, and built a new 30-foot arch culvert at Deadman Creek beneath US 2. The new culvert creates a better stream for fish and a safer crossing for resident deer, elk and moose.

A brief ceremony is planned for 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, to celebrate the major milestone. The event will be held on the new ramp that connects southbound US 2 to the southbound NSC. (The event can be accessed from the southbound US 2 ramp.)

Funding for this $43 million construction project came from the transportation funding program passed by the 2003 Legislature.

For more information on the project, go to the project website.

2011 is a good year for Downtown Spokane

Downtown Spokane is alive and well,it's one of my favorite places in the Inland Northwest and while it's seen the economy hit it just like every other spot in America, this year has proven to be a good one all in all.Several business changes have occured but the most noticeable changes have been and will be Kendall Yards,The Unversity District projects(Martin Luther King Blvd. and Medical School) but the other 2 are what I'm focusing on in this post and those are Mobius Science Center and The Spokane Public Market.The Public market is designed to be a smaller local version of Seattle's famous Pike Place Market.It has been open since this past summer but isn't up to the full glory i'm sure the market will one day see,it's worth the visit and it's a great place to get fresh local foods and even some products,They are located at 24 W 2nd Ave in Downtown Spokane and are very easy to find off of ether main streets,Division and Browne.Here is according to http://spokanepublicmarket.org/ what you will find there...   http://spokanepublicmarket.org/find-it-at-the-market/   

The other is Mobius Science Center,Spokane has come to know and love it's Mobius Kids Museum which takes up the basement of River Park Square Mall on Main downtown since it opened to the public in Sept. of 2005.Now in the 809 W. Main Building will be Mobius Science center.I saw on KHQ that the project is progressing quite nicely and is still on track to be open in the fall on 2012,In my opinion I would expect this museum to be more popular given it's in a street level space on a street which has pretty heavy foot traffic both by locals and out of town visitors.I'm sure we will find out more in the coming months,I'm told they will begin an outreach program very soon to promote that this science center is finally coming.The exact floorplan is not online yet but here is a shot of what the science center will look like once opened in 2012



All that and that and the projects in the University District  and Kendall Yards which of course i'll follow up on that too just goes to show you that sure you can get wraped up in all the doom and gloom of lay-offs and downsizings but that there is hope and still projects moving forward,That's the way out of a recession is to look for the positive.

New ways to contact us...

I now have a seprate e-mail just for tips and comments on items for and on this blog.The new e-mail is inlandbusiness@yahoo.com And you can always contact me on Facebook by liking the blog's facebook page at...
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Inland-Northwest-Business-Watch/163064547117641

I plan to also promote on Linkedin but need to work on that a little more.I also am hoping to use the Facebook page as a tool for local business to promote themselves and network amongst themselvles and the Inland Northwest community.

Once again, If you have an idea for the blog or a tip e-mail me at anytime inlandbusiness@yahoo.com

Update Nov 9th 2011

Intrinium Networks a company the explores companys IT security issues and has enjoyed much growth latly has opened it's new office at 505 N Argonne Rd Building B Suite 202.

Eastern State Hospital,which is a mental health hospital located near Medical Lake will undergo so renovateing some of which i'm sure is needed.The Westlake Building will be renovated and the Security will be fixed up in the Eastlake Building.

Edward Jewelry and Loan opened last week in Post Falls,where the Cricket Wireless store once was at 205 E. Seltice Way.It is also of note that I read in the Coeur d' Alene Press they have already been broken into,not a surprise as I also recall the Hayden Walgreens was robbed 2 days after it opened last year,Frustrating when that happens to a new business in this economy.

While I think they have been active for at least a couple of months Liberty Lake based OurTownZip has been really beefing up promoting their new local website and have posted a sign by their building which I didn't notice till recently they are in near I-90 in Liberty Lake.

Now and Then Thrift Store is opening soon in Coeur d' Alene they are by Divers West at 1508 Best Ave.

Properties By The Lake's sales offices right on Sherman near the Coeur d' Alene Resort in Coeur d Alene have closed.

Centry 21's real estate office in Liberty Lake has also closed but they have only consolidated in with the Downtown Spokane office.

The store called Trade Secret has closed at Spokane Valley Mall,Not quite sure when this happened though.

Gold Buyers of America has also set up a new location in the Spokane Valley Mall.

And while i'm on the Valley Mall trend i'll also note that Yankee Candle has opened a bright and big new store in the Spokane Valley Mall.

Spokane Clock is moving into their new location at 3140 N. Division in Spokane.

Dempsey's Brass Rail,which was a popular gay bar in Downtown Spokane has closed.

T&R Party Rentals at 2001 N Division in Spokane is closing also.

Knife River,a road construction company is now in their newly built offices at 8844 W Wyoming Ave in Rathdrum

Pampered Pups Dog Grooming is now open in Mead at 11915 N Market St.

Spokane Vintage Warehouse has opened at 2226 E. Riverside in Spokane.CORRECTION ttTHIS MAY HAVE BEEN MISREPORTED TO ME

I think it opened a couple months back too but I totally forgot about the Riverside Bistro which is a new resturant located inside the Oxford Suites on Indiana Ave in Spokane Valley and directly across from the Spokane Valley Mall.

Bias Software has purchased the building at 327 E. Pacific Ave in Spokane with the intent of remodeling it and moving their offices into it.

Geno's Italin Resturant which is a popular resturant on Hamilton in Spokane near Gonzaga has been converted into a bar and is now just called Geno's.

Curtis Orthodontics is nearly completion of their new office in Coeur d Alene on Canfield Ave in the same strip mall as Batteries Plus and Valentino's Pizza(near Target)

Floform Countertops has a new design center that has just opened at 5320 E Sprague in Spokane.

Set backs for Coeur d' Alene's McEwen Park project may come.

Last nights election sure did prove to be an interesting one for the city of Coeur d' Alene an the future of one of the city largest planned projects,McEwen Park.The massive rebuild of the park has been a hot button issue for months now with the side against the park plan being vocal and involved in many city government meetings,One issue they have had with the project was the plan calls for closing of the 3rd St boat launch which is used quite heavly for times like the 4th of july and basicly all summer with the tourist boat traffic on the lake,this along with the parking area being changed and even some who want to keep the American Legion Baseball Fields in place as opposed to elimateing them as well for this all new McEwen Park.
So this project has gotten a lot of people rather heated and that showed in the city of Coeur d Alene city council races with these results,Each of the winners listed below are all ones who campaigned strongly against McEwen,it is important to note however these newly elected officals only plan to send the park plan on to a public vote which there are still members of the voting public(such as myself,although I respect all viewpoints on this issue) that may still vote to move forward with the project,so all in all it just adds to the drama and suspence of this massive McEwen Park re-design and build project.

So here are the results for the City of Coeur d' Alene city council election 2011...

Coeur dAlene Council 1 Seat 1 Ron Edinger 3,236 74% Adam Graves 1,146 26%

Coeur dAlene Council 3 Seat 3 Dan Gookin 2,409 54% George Sayler 1,703 38% Mitch Mitchell 170 4% Annastasia Somontes 116 3% Derec Aujay 32 1%

Coeur dAlene Council 5 Seat 5 Steve Adams 2,439 56% John W Bruning 1,478 34% Amber Copeland 459 10%

Kootenai County Election Results as of about 11pm Nov 8th 2011

For the results live for Kootenai County and the cities in Kootenai County I recommend going here...

http://www.kcgov.us/elections/results/#

Spokane City/County and State of Washington election results Nov 8th 2011

.And now here are results for Spokane and The State of Washington....
http://www.kxly.com/politics/21511416/detail.html

I was posting directly to this site but due to the size of it after copy and paste it just doesn't work with the format.Anyways,some interesting results are coming in although there is still more counting yet to go.

Top rated in Spokane

Other then this Blog another website i've been obcessed with is Yelp.com so I got the idea to share the top rated business in the area so that maybe while exploring new business you can visit or re-visit some favorites.I know I personally find it it interesting because some of these i've never even been to...

On yelp.com....
1.Boo Radley's
2.Riverfront Park's Suction Goat(sad,but true)
3.Auntie's Bookstore
4.The Davenport Hotel
5.Manito Park
6.World's Largest Radio Flyer Wagon(Is it just me or does this city need better tourist attractions:) )
7.Milford's Fish House
8.Baby Bar
9.Wild Sage Bistro
10.Atticus Coffee and Gifts
11.Churchill's Steakhouse
12.Flying Goat
13.Huckleberry's Natural Market
14.Riverfront Park
15.Chicken-and-more
16.Picabu Neighboorhood Bistro
17.Viking Tavern
18.Santorini's Greek
19.Taste Cafe
20.Gordy's Sichuan Cafe

I'll post other from other areas from time to time.

Kc's Breakfast Club-Post Falls

I'm not with Kc's nor am I realted to the owners but I figured I'd stop and take a brief moment to help out of the Inland Northwest's truely good resturants that's not a chain and clean with a good product.I eat at Kc's whenever I can and have noticed their business seems to have slowed some so please if your in Post Falls stop by Kc's at 740 Cecil Rd(The Plaza At Post Falls,right across Cecil from the Post Falls Wal Mart) and give them a try.

Before the snow flies...

In my commutes and adventures around the Inland Northwest in the last couple of weeks i've noticed many of the bigger projects are rushing to finsh before the snow and/or the end of the year,I-90's rebuild in the Valley which when done will mean the road will have a new concrete surface and 6 lanes as opposed to the prior 4,That project should be done this month and last time I drove it signage was going up and some minor concrete work as well just a bit more of the all new sound wall from Flora Rd. to Barker Rd yet to go.This will increase traffic flow and get rid of that annoying slow down thru this area come 5 and 6 every weekday.In the road world big news also out of Sandpoint as the Sand Creek Byway which will take US 95 around Sandpoint insted of directly thru downtown is way ahead of schedule and if weather cooperates it may be finshed by the end of the year,which is a whole 10 months early! Other smaller projects rushing are in the apartment front,it looks like only finshing touches at Coeur d' Alene's Riverstone West Apartments on John Loop and with a little more to go the 55 and over apartments off of Idahline near Seltice in Post Falls.And that's just what I can think off of the top of my head,Fall is always an exciting time for constuction so i'll keep watching.

Reminder

Tonight is daylight savings time,it's time to set your clocks back or "fall back" .

Dog House Cafe

Just came across this story from the blogs on KXLY about a new restaurant in Downtown Spokane and figured i'd share it since it should be a nice addition to the Downtown area.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One block of West Sprague has its fair share of food trucks and across the street, music and day-time food venues, but what happens when the night comes to an end?

Dog House Cafe has a solution. Their brand new cafe.

“After they’re done partying and having a good time, they can sober up here,” manager, Julian Baird explained. He added: “We’re closer than Shari’s.”

The Cafe opened two weeks ago tucked away next to the former Lamp Post Tavern. It’s a minimal set up, but they accomplish the sustenance needed by late night crowds. They provide everything from make your own hot dogs to sandwiches and salads. They have twenty choices for condiments, seven for cheeses and meats, and two for breads.

They saw the most business on Saturday night, during the Halloween weekend. The crowds, Baird said, were mostly coming in from nearby Mootsy’s and Irv’s across the street.

The late night crowds have been interesting, Baird says. He wants to start his own blog just to talk about the happenings.

“It’s a big variety of people that come in here. In fact we’ve had Occupy Spokane sitting in front of our store about two weeks ago,” Baird shared. He continued, “They were trying to occupy the Cafe’s doorstep, but we think they were actually two homeless people saying they were with Occupy Spokane. They were asking people for money.”

During the lunch hours, it’s been quiet. Lunch-goers slow down on their way to Chicken n’ Mo wondering what’s inside.

They are not online yet, but they plan to start up a website and Facebook soon. Their grand opening is the weekend of November 11th and 12th with live music.

Location and Hours: Dog House Cafe is located at 412 W. Sprague. They're open Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. 

Sports Fans: I've been told they have all the sport packages. I've been told you know what this means. 

Changes at the Coeur d' Alene Resort

The Hagadone owned Coeur d' Alene Resort is changing slightly and maybe it's just my opinion but the hotel could use some updates and beyond what they are doing now but at least this is a start.The hotel is renovating the entry/valet area with a new roof and walls and although it's been done since I believe July they are promoting their new Event Center down the road at the Resort owned Golf Course and are now creating an event spot for weddings,etc. in the spot where the pool overlooking the lake once was.And the plaza shops on Sherman is changing fast too but not quite as good news Cisco's II antiques is moving out and consultating in with their original store on 4th just about 2 blocks away,Concept Kids which was a baby store has closed as did the store called SkinDeep which was an upscale cosmetics store.The SkinDeep spot has already been leased and is being converted to Gentlemen's Corner,a men's shop and the other 2 spots being vacated will i'm sure be refilled soon.It may sound bad to have 3 stores at once move out but as I noted in a previous post this seems to be unusally common for Downtown Coeur d' Alene with some other changes elsewhere downtown since we are heading into the off season and by May i'm sure everything will be full once again.

Update Oct 30th 2011

The Coeur d Alene Tribe is wrapping up one project and in mid-project on another on their Reservation near Plummer and Worley.The one that is basicly done is The Gathering Place Apartments ,which is affordable apartments for Tribal members.The other is a new bus barn for the partial tribe owned Citylink bus service which is the city bus service in Kootenai County and part of Benewah.

In the hiring dept.,West Corp which is call centers for several large corp's providing them with some sales but mostly customer service agents at their 2 Spokane area call centers which are in the Holley Mason Building at 157 S. Howard and on Sinto in the Valley.They will be hiring 250 more people for the Downtown(Holley Mason) location. Applications  are on westemployment.com .

Carousel Boutique is now open in Sandpoint inside the Cedar St. Bridge Shopping Center on 1st in Downtown Sandpoint

Also new in Sandpoint is a new location for White Cross Pharmacy now on Hwy 2 in Sandpoint.

Big and good news on the non-profit front as Coeur d Alene's Dirne Clinic is consolidating  their 2 locations into the former Group Health Clinic on Park Pl.(off of Lakewood) The medical clinic on Ironwood and the counciling office on Lincoln Way will move into the new building while the dental services will stay over in the Lincoln Way building.

A sales center for Old Hickory Shed's is now open in Coeur d Alene on Lee Ct off of Appleway and directly next to the Home and Art Center.

Lake City Shoe Repair is moving from their existing shop in 6000blk of N Government Way to the strip mall the also house GoodDog and some other stores in the 3000blk near Costco.

Fast Way Freight System which is based in Spokane has taken over competing trucking company, Spokane Transfer .

Washington Water Sports, Which is the Mastercraft boat dealer along I-90 by "The Hub" in the Spokane Valley has gone out of business.

While it has been open since July it is worth noting the Freya Outdoor Food Court at the corner of Freya and Olive in Spokane Valley.The site is place for food trucks and similar to sell their food and the food court provides a small dining area.

Last update I noted that Casa De Oro on Hwy 95 by Cherry Ln. in Coeur d Alene had closed but now it's already changing over to a new restaurant called Susie's Home Kitchen which will have Meatloaf Burgers among other items.And I did also notice that the Casa De Oro on Argonne in the Valley is still open.

More very soon,as I still have over a page yet to add and am always looking for more news and info,feel free to contact me on Facebook or mjbehri@gmail.com

Trader Joe's Opens,etc...

The long anticipated Trader Joe's store in Spokane finally opened today at 8am in Spokane's Lincoln Heights Shopping Center at 29th and Grand Ave.(South Hill) The store is 10,000 Sq. Ft and is a very nice addition to the community.I visited the new store tonight but will have to go back when the store is a little less crowded.


Like this blog?
I'm finally updating the Facebook page for the site,"like" us on ...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inland-Northwest-Business-Watch/163064547117641

I hope to get a update on the site again very soon,The economy may be poor but I still have a page and a half of items waiting to be posted,if this is a bad economy just think of what times can be like after times get better.The media shows the bad all day but I think the list shows good things are happening in Spokane/Coeur d' Alene business wise.

Update Oct 23rd 2011

A couple of companies locally have closed unfortunately,ABCO Wood Recycling has closed their Post Falls yard on Seltice Way citing a poor wood market.
Also,The Mexican restaurant  Casa de Oro on Hwy 95 at Cherry Ln. in Coeur d' Alene has also closed.With this one however I have noticed workers at the former restaurant painting and doing remodeling which may mean  another restaurant in the near future.

Celebrating their grand opening is the sister property of the Coeur d Alene Pet Resort called Paradise Pet Resort which is 11420 E. Jackson in Spokane Valley.

The Estate Store is a new store that looks similar to a thrift store in the former Miracle on Thrifty 4th Thrift store site next to The Bookworm on 4th in midtown Coeur d Alene.

The Hallmark store in Coeur d Alene's Ironwood Square shopping center has moved just down the way but into a larger space,The space is a former dollar store that was already split up a few months back to put in a new GameStop.

Thomasville Furniture just a block of Sprague on Howe Ave in Spokane Valley is closing and is having a going out of bussiness sale,They are mergeing the store in with their sister site at Ennis Fine Furniture on N. Division.

The tenants for the new office building by the pond in Riverstone have come up and will be Pacinian which makes products for the touch screen industry and has an office nearby in the Riverstone III office building which I would assume they would move out of.The other space will be a company with 5 employees called Riverstone Holdings which is promoting and selling off the remaining land and office space in all of Riverstone with the exception of retail mall.

The bridge over the Spokane River at State Line is set to be open by Nov. 1st which is big because it brings traffic back thru State Line and supports the business and bars in the small town famous for being the site of the Post Falls Cabela's.

Working on it...

Ok so it's been a while since i've updated this site,for which I apologize for.I hope to format the site to become more of a website and not just my personal blog.My plan is to post the updates on local business on weekends with other posts throughout other times of the week and adding a couple new features which will be added as time allows.And also build up the blog's Facebook page which for reference is here....

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inland-Northwest-Business-Watch/163064547117641?sk=wall

Thanks for coming...

 

Update on KYRS

As I reported earlyer,Spokane's Thin Air Community Radio(KYRS-LP FM) will be launching soon on their new full power station on 88.1.The station is hosting a 88.1 launch party on Nov. 5th at the Masonic Center on Riverside.Glad to see local radio growing and succeeding here at home.

Probably the biggest projects in the Inland Northwest,And a little rant of the day.

Every post I do on this blog highlights big and new projects in the Inland Northwest but perhaps the largest projects aren't new at all hince why they haven't been mentioned. but I figured I just post some info and maps on the US 95 project thru North Idaho,which I hear will include an a new interchange and entry to the Silverwood Amusement  Park north of Coeur d Alene and near Athol. But bigger is Spokane's US 395 North South freeway project which will create a new way to commute from Spokane Valley to the North side,like Northtown Mall and the Wandermere area in like half the time and from a travel and truck travel stand point will create a new much faster route to Canada.The new US 395 project would also open up new industrial land on the north side which means one very important thing,jobs. The only problem is the amount of time it will take to build since one part hasn't even secured the funding needed as of yet and to date the only open part of what will one day be a several mile long freeway is a stretch of 2 lane inbetween Freya and near route 2. So it is for now just a dream but one day will be a huge part of life in Spokane and will change many ways of doing business in Spokane.
Here is a map of the new US 395 North Spokane corridor project...


And for more info visit Wash DOT's project home page...
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/us395/northspokanecorridor/

The US 395 project will also include a multi-use trail that will run the length of the project called the Children of the Sun Trail and a intermodal center.Hopfully I will get some pictures of the 395 project to post here soon.

The other project I mentioned the US 95 project which is upgradeing 95 to a freeway north of Coeur d Alene and a south of Coeur d Alene near Worley which appears to be largely complete except for maybe spots south of Worley which is an area  I don't have a lot of info on yet.
Here is a map of that project....


The map is a lot more vague but I hope to find a better one soon,all the info on the project is ITD's North Idaho district webpage at....
http://itd.idaho.gov/projects/d1/

New Canola plant in Warden will be big for the regions economy

Because it's not in the big city of Spokane,in fact it's in the small eastern Washington town of Warden which isn't far from Moses Lake,it hasn't gotten much notice but Groundbreaking occurred recently on Pacific Coast Canola's plant which is $109 million dollar project which will employ 35 right at the plant but many more directly involved with the operations,and will be one of this part of the country's only such operations. The plant will be complete in 2013 and will be defiantly be a welcome addition to the Eastern Washington community.

http://www.khq.com/story/15519409/new-canola-processing-plant-in-warden-expected-to-boost-local-economy

Or more info directly from Pacific Coast Canola on their site...
http://pacificcoastcanola.com/warden_crusher.php

Inland Producers could get new exports,which means $$$ for many.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/oct/10/local-producers-anticipate-rise-in-exports-to/

Interesting article about the much needed support a new trade agreement with South Korea would bring here in the Inland Northwest for ranchers and other producers.

Update Oct 9th 2011

Rocking B Ranch Dinner Shows in between Liberty Lake and the small town of State Line,Id. has closed due to the owners retirement.The cowboy dinner show club has been a landmark for sometime so while it was a relatively small business it's sad to see it go.

Haupin's ,The electronics retailer with stores in Downtown Spokane and North Spokane on Divison will open a kiosk in River Park Square on the main floor to sell small electronic items.

North Idaho Dermatology has branched out to Eastern Washington with their new location at 2207 N. Molter Rd Suite#101B in Liberty Lake.

Essential Home Furnishings which was a tenant in The Village at Riverstone in Coeur d Alene has closed and merged in inventory with their sister store Quinn Essentials on 5th Ave in Post Falls which an ad said that that store has an expanded showroom now.

Bunker Buildings in Spokane has moved to 5605 N Market St.

Valley Power Sports in having a grand opening at 302 N Division in the Silver Valley Town of Pinehurst,ID.

The south corridor of the Spokane Arena is now home to an Irish themed pub called The Limerick Pub which is named after Spokane's sister city of Limerick,Ireland .The pub will feature many famous Irish beers,and will be open during all events at Spokane Arena.

Orlando's Mexican Drive-Up reopened in Coeur d Alene in a small but new and nondescript drive up building in the parking lot of The Skate Plaza at Hwy 95 and Dalton Ave.

Schweitzer Vision Center has moved into their new home at 20 N Evergreen Rd. Suite 102 in Spokane Valley.

Sunsational Tanning,Juice bar and Espresso is celebrating their grand opening in Spokane Valley at 1401 N Argonne Rd.

Cartridge World,an printer ink supply store is opening soon in a strip mall in front of the Coeur d Alene Costco.The address is 3524 Government Way.

Highroad Human Services in Coeur d Alene is moving from their current location on N Government Way to 7905 Meadowlark Way which is in the Prairie Commerce Park.

Northern Lights Tile and Stone,Which also sells carpet and most flooring has opened in the Tready Rock Plaza at 414 W Seltice Way Suite A.This building has been plagued with tenants coming and going so we can only hope this one will stay.The unit was formerly a used car dealer.

Miles Coffee has opened at 167 W Miles Ave. in Hayden.

And on the coffee note,Traffic Stop Coffee is a new coffee stand on Ramsey Rd near the Kroc Center and out front of the Ramsey Transfer Station. And new owners have bought a coffee stand in Spokane Valley at 5305 1/2 E Trent Ave. and plan to call their stand,Spocoffee.

The Plant Wizard at 3103 S. Grand Ave on the South Hill is closing,Their last day is Oct. 29th

Hattie's Quilt Shop is re-opening at the corner of Sprague and Evergreen in Spokane Valley.

Mercury Grill is a new diner which will have some deep fried desserts that are common at the fair and Pig Out in The Park such as deep fried Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.They are located at 14819 N Newport Hwy in Spokane.

I don't know what it is for sure yet but a liquor licence was applied for by a company called The Ref at 14208 E. Sprague in Spokane Valley which on Google shows up as the former Owen Auction Gallery building.My guess is a new Sports Bar but I will check.

Speaking of bars,Razzle's Bar and Grill is now open in Hayden at 10325 N Government Way.The bar is the former and smaller Beer Hunter bar at Hwy 95 and Hayden Ave.

Cospace CDA is new group in Coeur d Alene promoting Co-working and co-working events in the Coeur d Alene area.Their website and ad I found indicate they hope to have a permanent home to co-work in somewhere in the Midtown Coeur d Alene area soon,I will keep in eye out to see where and when.

Thrivent Financial For Lutherans has moved in Coeur d Alene from their old home on 3rd St to a new home at 133 E. Poplar.

Parkside Grocery opened a couple of weeks ago in the 1900 block of West Maxwell in West Spokane.The grocery is a small grocery/c-store but is different in that they have fresh local produce and healthy alliterative's

Right next door to Parkside Grocery is Monkey Business Cafe,which is a deli that opened around the same time as Parkside.The deli is a regular deli but does not serve any fried foods.

With a 1920's and 30's Theme,The Vault Social Club and Eatery is opening in downtown Spokane in the building at 120 N Wall St. on both the 1st floor and the basement,The resturant will be a speakeasy theme.

The popular Season Ticket bar on Howard St directly across from the Spokane Arena has been re-named The Tailgater Sports Bar and they also now feature the Spokane Comedy Club.

If you have more you'd like to ad,Maybe something going on with you business e-mail me at mjbehri@gmail.com

Elsewere in the Inland Northwest

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/oct/07/harringtons-high-hopes/

This is interesting story re: life and business in the small Inland Northwest town of Harrington(Near Davenport) while Spokane and Coeur d Alene are the business hot spots for the Inland Northwest but the area has many of these small towns with such potential,I hope to cover them more in the future.

Update Oct 7th 2011

Max's Custom Pet Clothing is a new business in Spokane at Francis and Regal.

Amazing Siding and Windows is a having their grand opening at 2901 n Argonne Rd. in Spokane Valley.They sell VPI and Coeur d Alene Window Co. Windows.

Wallace,ID will next year be home to Silver Streak Zip Line Tours with a zip line thru the hills near town which is under development now.

Memories For You is a new small gift vendor at 2515 W Geiger Rd. in Spokane.

Andy's Pho appears to be a new Vietnamese resturant in Spokane at 3004 N Monroe Ave.

The former Isabella's Gin Joint on Main in Downtown Spokane is now the Saranac Public House.

The long awaited Sapphire Lounge has opened in Downtown Spokane at 901 W. 1st Ave. which is located in the building of The Hotel Ruby.

I've noticed a lot construction work inbetween the Mill River Senior Apartments and the brand new Frontier Ice Arena along Seltice Way in Coeur d Alene.I know that at one point a development company in Liberty Lake had proposed a 200+ unit apartment complex but since that was proposed some time ago now i'm not 100% sure that is what it is for so I will do some more looking into this and report on it soon.

Vin Rouge on E. 29th on Spokane's South Hill has closed due the owner not being able to secure a new lease on the building.The building is leased from Carl's Jr. and with the Trader Joe's store going in and improvements to The Lincoln Heights Shopping Center going on so close by Carl's Jr. would like to explore a new store on the site with all the extra traffic and shoppers coming.

On that note the Jack In The Box directly across the street from Vin Rouge at 3020 E 29th has also shut down,Jack In The Box has not said the reason for the closure.

The new Ross store at the corner of 29th and Grand in Spokane is now open for business.

Work crews are demolishing the former China South restaurant on Spokane's South Hill.They are making way for a new strip mall.

Flashback Second Hand Store is reopening with new owners in Pinehurst,Id. They are at 109 S. Division next to Barney's supermarket.

A much needed connection

Spokane International Airport has been awarded a $950,000 federal grant to secure non stop flight service between Spokane and Los Angeles. The flight was once an option from Spokane was a few years back but that has been long cancelled and now with 250,000 travelers each year flying out of Spokane for a destination in the LA area this connection will be huge but on a leisure travel appeal but opens up an easier way for the business traveler to get to that all important meeting .

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/28/grant-awarded-to-help-attract-nonstop-la-flight/

When on door closes,another one opens....

Changes are a brewing for the Post Falls area restaurant scene,The biggest news isn't good news though.Rob Elder's Hot Rod Cafe has officially closed their doors after being open for 14 years with a drop in sales of 40 percent in the last 3 and half years ( http://www.kxly.com/news/29412289/detail.html ) This means a lay off of Hot Rod's 40 employees but then there is the good news ,Burger King in Post Falls along Mullan Ave(out front of Wal-Mart,which is the former Mirastar gas station) will officially on Monday at 6:00 am and the good news is in that they will employ 60 employees ( http://www.cdapress.com/news/business/article_0dc18ddc-a137-5276-9499-4113be88e93e.html ) The only bad part is this opening is right at the same time as Hot Rod's closure so chances are many of their employees won't have the opportunity to apply should they want to.

And one more tidbit is that the from Greensferry Crossing / Casey's / A whole bunch of resturants over the years at the corner of Greensferry and Seltice in Post Falls is being converted and remodeled to become Sky Prarie Church which up until now has been meeting at the Post Falls Theater on Seltice near Kimball Office and River City Lanes.

Oh and I almost forgot the Breakfest Nook Resturant just a block from Hot Rod on Schmidmiller Ave. has changed to The Side St. Place but the signs says same great food just new name.

Exciting...

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/oct/05/new-ground-breaking-on-riverpoint-project/

Ground breaking on one of the Inland Northwest's biggest projects both in price and size but also in overall economic impact to the region will be today at about 1:30 at Washington State Unversity's Academic Center which is also at the Riverpoint Campus. Construction has already started on the Riverpoint Campuses medical building in Spokane's University District which will cost $70 million, But will inject $441 million into the economy by 2017 and 1.6 Billion(with a B) by 2030. The groundbreak will be attended by Gov. Chris Gregoire, Sen. Lisa Brown, Sen. Michael Baumgartner, Mayor Mary Verner, WSU President Elson Floyd and others.

Update Oct 3rd 2011

It has been a bit since I did one of these updates so here you go.And don't forget if you have anything that you don't think I know about e-mail me anytime at mjbehri@gmail.com .Thanks!

Grand Openings have been going on for the new branch of Community 1st Bank inside the former Coldwell Banker at the intersection of Hanley Ave. and US 95 in Coeur d Alene.The bank takes up most of the building and some space is still available it appears.

KYRO Ice Arena is almost complete off of Seltice Way near Atlas in Coeur d Alene.However it is now called Frontier Ice Arena since the phone company,Frontier made a large donation to the project to help finish it.

Yutzen Sushi has opened in the former Thai Bamboo on N. Division in Spokane(Thai Bamboo moved to a newer building also on N Division) .Yutzen is a sushi restaurant from Seattle and although I don't know how much is offered I've heard they have a $1 sushi menu.

RTUI a company that sells those ad's and coupons on the back of your store receipt's is hiring 65 more people to it's call center on the North side of Spokane on Wellesley Ave. near the VA hospital.

The Hardwood Store in Coeur d Alene is moving north a bit to 250 W Miles Ave which puts it now in Hayden.

I'm not 100% sure if it's new or not but I've notice a couple of ad's for the Harrison Mountain Hostel and RV Park near Turner Bay along Lake Coeur d Alene and near the small town of Harrison.

Oct 1st was the grand opening for No Limits Mixed Marshal Arts on Biztown Lp. in Hayden.

The former Left Overs Thrift store in Post Falls has been sold and is now Thrift Addiction at 11518 E Sprague Ave. in Spokane Valley and their sister store,Thrift Addiction Too on N. Government Way(in the same strip mall as Government Way Antiques and near Home Depot)

in Coeur d' Alene

Forest Steel in Coeur d Alene is undergoing a major expansion by building a new building which some in the neighborhood surrounding their plant have complained about the sheer size of the building which will store steel.

Flaming Joe's Restaurant which has 2 other locations in Spokane has opened their new South Hill location at 2620 E. 29th Ave in the Rosauers Plaza.

While I guess it's been open for a couple of months now Downtown Groceries and Grocery store with a selection of Beers and Wine is open in what once was Northwest Map and Travel Book Center at 525 E. Sprague Ave right in downtown Spokane.

The Parisian Cupcake is another cupcake store open at 24th and Grand on the South Hill in Spokane.

Montrose on the Park townhomes are taking shape on the South Hill also.They are at 20th and Grand and will have the perk of being just a hop skip and jump(or a short walk,which ever suits you best...) to Mantio Park.

Rumor is Jimmy John's will replace Curves at the Lincoln Heights Shopping Center on the South Hill.

Sweet and Stout Cupcakes is setting up shop in Millwood where they will use commercial kitchen space to create their cupcake cooked in....wait for it...beer.They will be sold at Brews on Washington in downtown Spokane and soon other stores.Their site in Millwood will not be a storefront but only a place to run the company and bake.

Mackenzie River Pizza will open soon at 57th and Regal on the South Hill.

Ross will also be opening soon on the South Hill at 29th and Grand and they are now hiring for positions.

A brand new Ace Hardware opened at 9th and Monroe in Spokane a couple of week ago.

Subway will open a new location in the former Quizno's at 10th and Grand in Spokane.

The Kroc Community Center on the corner of Ramsey Rd. and Golf Course Rd. in Coeur d Alene appears to moving along nicely with the building of their new 2 story parking garage which will be a welcome addition to the center which has boasted larger then anticipated attendance ever since day 1.

Kootenai Prosthetics and Orthotics is building a new clinic on Polston Ln. in Post Falls near Super 1 Foods.

I still have several more items on the list to post so check back as I hope to post more tomorrow..

Gov. Otter in town Tuesday to attend 2 major groundbreakings.

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter will be in Coeur d' Alene and Rathdrum Tues. .The first is a huge project for our area and that is the Vocational school,KTEC being built near Rathdrum. The groundbreaking has been moved up to 3pm so that Gov. Otter may attend the funeral of a soldier from Southern Idaho.I'll try to gather some more info on this project which has been in the works for sometime but is just now starting and will be a great to have to further the education of the younger generations.

The other groundbreaking is something I reported on last week,Underground Force, however I got my facts mixed up a bit and have since found out they will employ 150 not the 50 I had said.This groundbreaking is at 4:30 and is at the former Knife River site along Seltice Way in between Post Falls and Coeur d Alene.

Kendall Yards moving right along.

Kendall Yards,the large project on the north bank of the Spokane River near Downtown Spokane is finally moving along even since Greenstone took over and saved the day,so to speak from the defunct and broke former developer which originally came up with the idea of the large mixed use urban development.Today I learned they have plans for grocery store(of some sort,no names as of yet) to be in place and open by next thanksgiving which would be a great idea and surely would help along to commercial and office parts of the project but does pose some interesting questions with parking,The site of the grocery store would end up near the Spokane County court campus which has a serious parking crunch of it's own with people being on parking permit waiting lists for litterly years.So it surely will be interesting to see what happens i'm just glad to see actual work at Kendall Yards and Greenstone says they plan to build 1 to 3 of their planned office buildings at this site next year as well as more housing which is still under construction as we speak.And Kendall Yards is building a good style of homes with fair prices to be more appealing and all within walking distance for most to Downtown Spokane.I'll be watching and posting more on Kendall Yards in the near future and hopfully will post some pictures at some point,so keep checking back

More on this from the Spokesman-Review:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/29/grocery-store-proposed-kendall-yards/

Or from the official Kendall Yards website:

http://www.greenstonehomes.com/communities/Kendall-Yards/

Disclaimer

Just a quick post to remind all the readers of this blog(And hello,both of you :) ) about a couple of things to know about this blog,I'm non bias and I say this as unlike some of the other similar blogs,columns,etc... I don't work for any real estate office or development/construction company but with that I cannot promise 100% accuracy but will try and do as much research as possible before posting.I also do see much of the area on a regular basis there may be areas I don't get to as often as others(I live in Post Falls,so I probably will know Post Falls more then say Indian Trail or Deer Park but I will try) so I may miss a lot in some places and when I do go there next I would probably report on something that has been open for a month or two as opposed to an area I go to more often where I would know the place sometimes before they even open.I also try to go by sight but also use many sources and papers and word of mouth from others.And probably most important I'm not a journalism or professional in any way so if I misspell something or use the wrong grammar,I'm sorry.That being said,enjoy.....

Downtown Transportation

Spokane and Coeur d' Alene are very car driven areas but our area is slowly changing those habits with a large network of trails and 2 city bus systems which are reporting higher and higher rider counts.And while I personally view light rail throughout the Spokane Coeur d Alene metro area as an answer for the long term,many including the tightly budgeted,Spokane Transit do not seem to see it that way.But they are taking a step in the right direction with a perposal to put in a system of streetcars thru Downtown Spokane,which would help improve pedestrian flow thru Downtown.STA right now operates a shuttle route (STA route number 1) thru the downtown core and the Arena area and the medical shuttle(route number 2) thru south Downtown and the lower South Hill neighborhood which is home to both Deconess Medical Center and Sacred Heart Medical Center as well many medical office buildings.So while STA does serve Downtown well from a personal stand point these streetcars will be a great addition. The bad news is that while STA is looking into this now they don't expect it to go to a public vote till 2013.

For more on this...

http://www.inlander.com/spokane/article-16763-a-spokane-trolley.html

http://www.downtownspokane.org/streetcar-feasibility-study.php

http://www.connectspokane.org/

And for a interesting map of the Spokane's streetcar system back in 1923....

http://metrospokane.typepad.com/Highlights/metrospokane-streetcar-map.pdf

Education Corridor work well underway in Coeur d' Alene

I drive thru the area around North Idaho College often and have been watching the process being made on the education corridor and must say it's nice to see something coming of the large former mill site north of NIC .The construction is frustrating at times but once completed the new access points to NIC,U of I and LCSC as well as any new buildings which I havn't heard much on yet with what will be built where,I'm sure it will be a great addition to the Coeur d Alene and North Idaho community.I hope to get some pictures posted on here soon so those of you who don't get down there very often can see it.