White House move formally introduced
An artist's rendering of the J. C. White House at its potential new location at the base of Tubbs Hill. The gray structures flanking the White House represent placeholders where new, yet-to-be-designed wings would eventually be built. (Image courtesy of the City of Coeur d'Alene)
A historical Coeur d’Alene home is one step closer to making a historical move.
Museum of North Idaho organizers and collaborators formally introduced their plan Tuesday night during the Coeur d’Alene City Council meeting to move the historical J.C. White House from its current address on Sherman Avenue to its potential new home along the base of Tubbs Hill, all part of a larger project to expand the Museum of North Idaho.
“We have had the privilege of working with a fantastic team of people to bring the project along,” Julie Gibbs, president of the museum’s board of directors, told the council, “and bring us closer to our vision to have a premier regional museum that will be a source of community pride.”
Gibbs said the new facility — the White House and its flanking buildings that would serve as exhibit and event wings — opens up new possibilities to the public and the museum alike.
“We can continue to do what we’ve done for the last 50 years, plus offer so much more,” Gibbs added. “This facility will be a beautiful facility that will be a family friendly attraction that will welcome visitors to our city and give them an overview of our history and the culture that is unique to Coeur d’Alene.”
The J.C. White House has been under the specter of demolition for months before a grassroots effort to save the building led to more than four months of negotiations with the Launder family, owners of the parcel on which the house sits. The three-story, 6,000-square-foot house built in 1904, was one of the original permanent homes built in Coeur d’Alene and one of the few remaining original structures.
Museum leadership intends to lift the house off its foundation, carry it south of City Hall, place it on its new foundation and connect it to new buildings, equalling more than 20,000 square feet of space. To enact this plan, the team requires permits to move the house. Moving the facility, restoring, remodeling and winterizing the White House is a $1.6 million chunk of the $8.4 million endeavor.
“The critical path down here is, the White House must be moved by the end of September 2019, so it’s very, very soon,” Steve Roth of Architects West told the Council. “Our plan is to finish construction documents for the foundation this week and next, submit them for permit … By early September, we expect to have a permit for the move, and then the foundation will be constructed during the month of September, and then the house moved by the end of September.”
After the museum team asked for the council’s support, debate between the council and city staff then discussed the permit process, will go through the ignite cda board to transfer the deed to the city.
“Things in government happen really slow, Councilman Dan Gookin replied. “It has to be transparent, and there’s no guarantees of anything … Time is crunchy, and government is not swift.”
The council also voiced concerns over the 17 parking stalls in the museum; a center roundabout in the parking lot could potentially be cleared to make room for additional stalls.
Jim Faucher, who spearheads the museum team’s fundraising efforts, said the $8.4 million that needs to be gathered received a big first step in the right direction.
“I’m pleased to tell you that we have an anonymous donor who will match all the funds for the move,” Faucher informed the council. “So obviously we’re very, very pleased about that aspect of that, and it helps create momentum for the whole project.”
While no one knows precisely how long the fundraising efforts will take, Faucher added he hopes the new museum can be funded in one group effort.
“What we’d like to do if at all possible is not do it in phases if we can,” he said. “If at all possible, we’d like to make it all one capital campaign, because I can speak from experience, there’s a lot of donor fatigue out there at times, and you hate to go back to people a second time.”
That said, Fauncher added he felt confident about the challenge ahead.
“This community is very, very generous and very giving,” he said. “It believes in projects like this, and I think it can certainly be done.”
Mayor Steve Widmyer expressed his thanks to the owners of the White House parcel for their support during the negotiating process.
“This is kind of the, I guess we would say, maybe, the end of the beginning, right?” he said. “There’s so much work to be done here. I just want to thank the Launder family for their generous donation, and they’ve been great to work with.”