Cd'A may purchase 47-acre Atlas Mill site
Map detailing 47 acres the city of Coeur d’Alene is considering purchasing along the Spokane River. It is the old Atlas Mill site off Seltice Way.
More than a half-mile of river frontage along the Spokane River owned by a Mega Millions lottery winner may be purchased by the city of Coeur d’Alene for recreation, river access, and development.
The city announced Thursday its plans to buy for approximately $8 million the property that is the former Atlas Mill site along Seltice Way that has been vacant for a decade and is considered a brownfield site - a former industrial site reused for development.
Locally, brownfield sites have been used for other developments along the Spokane River, including at Riverstone.
“The City’s purpose in buying the site is to obtain waterfront access and recreational/trail property for the community and to help facilitate the remediation of the land for redevelopment,” according to a city council staff report prepared by city attorney Mike Gridley.
The 47-acre site includes 3,700 feet of waterfront, and is owned by Bad Axe LLC, a company funded by Holly Lahti, a former Rathdrum bank teller and single mother who four years ago won almost $200 million lottery jackpot.
The former Burlington Northern Railway right-of-way, which the city owns, bisects the acreage, which once housed a mill and lumber storage yards, but the structures were razed and removed years ago.
“By purchasing this site the City will have access to the Spokane River and more land for public use,” according to the report.
The purchase will also provide an opportunity to work with Ignite CDA, the city’s urban renewal agency, in its efforts to remediate and redevelop the site.
“The City will ultimately sell or otherwise dispose of the property not needed for public use to make it available for redevelopment,” Gridley wrote in the report.
The purchase price for the property is $7.85 million if the sale is completed by Oct. 25, and $8 million if the sale has not been finalized by the end of the year. A $100,000 refundable escrow deposit is required for approval of the agreement.
If the deal goes through, the city plans to sell half of the water frontage to a private developer and use the remaining half for public access.