MIDTOWN: Oppose housing proposal

I am here as your neighbor to inform you of what’s going on over your fence. A midtown project that has been an on again, off again, project is back on. I am talking about a project some call “Affordable Workforce Housing,” but others call “Low Income Subsidized Government Housing.” No matter what you would like to call it, it is being proposed to go in on the corner of Roosevelt and Fourth Street.

This is what’s being proposed: A three-story building consisting of 38 rental units, 1,400 square feet of retail space, with parking for 38 units and the retail spaces. This is what is proposed to go up on a half-acre lot. This would include the downing of Fray building and the old Paris Flea Market store. It will run from one end of the corner to the edge of the parking lot for the Idaho Youth Ranch. This is what you will see on your commute on Fourth Street, and from your backyard if you are one of the surrounding neighbors. Remember it’s a three-story building.

Yes, I am not in favor of this project in this location. I live here. Wrong size. Wrong look. Wrong use of our taxpayer dollars. Oh, by the way, this is a LCDC and Idaho Housing Development project. So these are your taxpayer dollars being used to fund more than half of this project. As your neighbor, I ask you to learn more about what’s going on over your side of the fence and with your taxpayer dollars. I ask you to come to the corner of Fourth and Roosevelt and park in midtown parking. I ask you to walk the street of Fourth on your way to Capone’s for a pizza. As you sit on the outside patio area of Capone’s, imagine a three-story building with 38 rental units and 1,400 square feet of retail. This will also include the cars and the traffic that will come with it. A project of this magnitude on this corner, in my view, will devastate the look and the feel of midtown forever. Now, I’m not for an empty lot full of weeds. I would think a smart developer would put in a project that would promote and enhance the midtown area. This is what I would like to see on the other side of my fence.

This is from your neighbor, and I’ve been in this neighborhood for 22 years. There has got to be a better spot for a project like this in our city. Come and voice your concerns and be informed. Join us at the City Council meeting on May 20 at 6 p.m., at the Coeur d’Alene library.

GREGG JOHNSON

Coeur d’Alene