River City is growing up beautifully

Post Falls, is that you?

The bedroom community between Coeur d’Alene and Spokane is changing, and with that transformation comes a bolder, brighter identity.

For years, Post Falls was commuter central for the region. Legions of residents have been driving west every morning before turning around and heading east in the evening. Many others have lived in Post Falls, where housing costs tend to be more affordable, and worked in Coeur d’Alene.

Strong employers started to provide lots of good jobs in the community. Harpers, which became Flexel, which became Kimball Office, was one of the more notable. With nearly half a million square feet of manufacturing space, Kimball peaked with a workforce of 450 but shuttered the plant last year. Ground Force and Ground Force Worldwide have picked up some of the good jobs slack, and on the western edge of town in the research park, dynamic companies like Ednetics provide superior jobs for highly qualified professionals.

But one of the biggest areas of employment growth, good jobs with benefits, has been on the medical front. Northwest Specialty Hospital, North Idaho Surgical Hospital Building, LLC, Kootenai Health, Northern Idaho Advanced Care Hospital and others have forged a powerful medical presence in the community, augmented further by Friday’s grand opening of Northwest Specialty’s Pain Management center. Much more growth lies ahead as Northwest Specialty and Kootenai Health are both expanding. Not to be forgotten is that some of the region’s very finest assisted living facilities, like Garden Plaza and Guardian Angel Homes, are mainstays in Post Falls.

The metamorphosis of Post Falls was further highlighted last week by two exciting announcements, one grabbing more attention than the other, but both significant in the development of the River City. Jobs Plus, the region’s economic development agency, unveiled new plans for the sputtering outlet mall near Interstate 90 that likely will bolster business in that area.

To less acclaim but of real significance, decades-long talk of developing an actual downtown is taking tangible steps toward reality. With City Hall and the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce as something of a centerpiece, development has begun to expand parking in the area and bring in attractive downtown-worthy tenants including Roger’s Burgers and Post Falls Brewing Company. More retail and comfortable gathering places are certain to follow.

One of the reasons Post Falls is so strategically important to the economic vitality of Kootenai County is because unlike Coeur d’Alene, it literally has lots of room to grow. Medical, manufacturing and retail advances complemented by the blossoming of a downtown will help eventually rub off the bedroom community label. The city with more than 30,000 residents founded in 1871, full of good jobs and a broad array of services, will stand on its own like never before.