Share your Atlas vision

Riparian buffer zones, a non-motorized boat launch, limited motorized boat traffic and a bike path are among the options put forward at a meeting seeking input on the future of the Atlas waterfront.

Another meeting set between 5:30 and 7 p.m. this Thursday at Frontier Ice Arena, 3525 W. Seltice Way, will allow the public to comment further on how they want the 47-acre former mill site to be used.

“We want to get a clear focus on what the broader community wants to see out there,” Coeur d’Alene City Council member Kiki Miller said.

Miller was among councilors who voted unanimously last year to move forward with a plan to purchase for $7.85 million the former mill site tucked between Seltice Way and the Spokane River. The transaction is set to close in May.

So far, environmental assessments have found the site — the last major undeveloped property along the Spokane River — doesn’t require a lot of clean up, and if it’s soundly developed, it could be an economic, as well as a recreational, boon to the area.

Comments gathered at a meeting last month at the Coeur d’Alene library, which included representatives from 45 community organizations, focused on securing public access to the Spokane River.

“The No. 1 piece of information we got is that public access to the waterfront is very, very important,” Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer said.

Participants represented groups or entities including Kootenai County, The Coeur d’Alene Tribe, local colleges and universities, environmental and recreational organizations as well as contractors, real estate and homeowners organizations.

“I think we captured a lot of the population of Coeur d’Alene throughout all of these groups,” Widmyer said.

Thursday’s meeting will invite comments from the general public, which will hear what has been learned so far and be apprised of options.

In other words: “What can and can’t be done at the site, and people can weigh in and leave comments,” Miller said.

Group representatives said a general event center, such as a performing arts center, a non-motorized boat launch and medical clinics should be considered for the site. Or, part of it could be used for entertainment venues and recreational rental kiosks.

Some group members doubted the area was a good place for swimming because of existing boat traffic on the river.

The waterfront should be heavily commercial, some group members suggested, with a focus on food and beverage vendors. Others suggested that medium density housing was the best use for the site.

“As long as we can balance development and growth and opportunity with public access,” Jimmy McAndrew of Mountain West Bank said. “So finding that balance and trying to make all these people and stakeholders happy is probably going to be a balancing act in and of itself.”

The riverfront property at the edge of Coeur d’Alene city limits was first developed as the Atlas Mill Company in 1909. Mills associated with Atlas operated there until 2000, when Stimson purchased the mill. Prior to closing its operations in December 2005, Stimson used the property for a sawmill, and log and lumber storage yards. The buildings and structures were demolished in 2006. Asphalt and concrete roads and lots were crushed and piled on the property, along with log waste.

The site and its half mile of waterfront is one of the last, big undeveloped waterfront parcels in Coeur d’Alene. Once it’s purchased, the city would annex the property and sell a portion to ignitecda, Coeur d’Alene’s urban renewal agency, which would find a buyer.

Early estimates showed that 37 acres could support about $100 million worth of housing and commercial development. The property owner, Bad Axe LLC, represents Holly Lahti, a former bank teller from Rathdrum who split a $380 million Mega Millions jackpot in 2011, according to the city. After collecting her winnings, Lahti moved to California.

Thursday’s meeting is just the second meeting to gather input in a process that will include additional public meetings this spring and summer.

“We’re really not even halfway through with gathering information,” Miller said.

Each meeting will result in a clearer picture of the public’s desires for the site. Subsequent meetings will present those ideas, as well as the dollar amounts required to make them happen.

“In the end, we want to do something that will be here forever, and that people will appreciate,” council member Dan Gookin said. “Nothing is really decided, so we’re inviting the community to come.”