What does Post Falls want its identity to be?

POST FALLS — Post Falls has grown up, and planners are evaluating how to further develop its downtown.

The Planning and Zoning Commission, City Council and Urban Renewal Agency met for a workshop on Tuesday with the nonprofit Urban Land Institute of Idaho as well as development proponents from bustling cities across the state to explore ideas for a future downtown.

The workshop at the Q'emiln Park trailhead shelter drew about 50 attendees that included residents, city staff, elected officials and volunteer board members.

"Downtowns are cool again just like bell bottoms," said Keri Smith-Sigman, of Destination Caldwell, a development organization in the city west of Boise. "You have to spend money on them."

Smith-Sigman said in three years Caldwell's core went from boarded-up buildings and gang-invested crime to a vibrant city center with Indian Creek Plaza as a gathering place.

She said the project gave residents a reason to spend time and money in their hometown rather than driving to Meridian or Boise for entertainment. She said she sees the same situation happening here with Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene.

After the meeting, Post Falls Planner Jon Manley said Post Falls' vision to create a happening, multi-use city center was created in 2002 during a community visioning process.

He said the city's recent comprehensive plan update process didn't alter that vision, so planners are moving ahead with the Spokane Street corridor from Interstate 90 to the Spokane River as the future city center.

The city and Urban Renewal Agency are in the process of creating a 548-acre urban renewal district on both sides of the freeway in the central part of the city to spur economic development.

Recent additions to the city center that give planners optimism that the ball is already rolling include businesses such as Post Falls Brewing, The Sawmille Grille and Roger's Ice Cream.

What hasn't developed as quickly as city officials have hoped is the former Post Falls Landing site on west Spokane Street that was stalled by the Great Recession and legal battles.

While development has occurred on the river, much of the property has stayed vacant for nearly 20 years despite earlier infrastructure improvements funded by urban renewal.

Derick O'Neill, of River Shore Development in Boise, said he "drooled" as he toured Post Falls before the workshop.

"There is incredible opportunity," he said.

He encouraged the entire community, including elected officials and residents, to carry on with a shared vision with a laser focus on making downtown development a funding priority.

"The word 'our' is important," he said. "Downtown is for everyone."

Doug Woodruff, of the Capital City Development Corp. in Boise, said he encourages Post Falls to stay the course on developing a thriving city center because some Boise projects have taken 30 years to become reality.

"It's now a special place where people want to come and spend money," he said.

Not all residents are warm and fuzzy to the creation of a new city center for Post Falls.

Barry Rubin posed the question of what residents have to gain if one does come to fruition or what they have to lose if it doesn't.

Smith-Sigman said she found herself wondering if her kids would someday be passionate about staying in Caldwell.

"We live in a day in which downtown is a place people hang out," she said. "If your downtown is not a place to hang out, they are going to other communities."

She said Post Falls has a beautiful setting with a lot of potential, but she had a difficult time telling where downtown was.

James Palmer said he has lived in Post Falls since 1967 when Post Falls had a downtown on Spokane Street.

He said First Street next to Post Falls Brewing gets so crowded with vehicles at times that he can't pull his boat through that area.

Resident Dustin Baze said the neighborhood is already starting to feel the effects of multi-family housing in the city center as some residents are using a park area as a parking lot.

City Council member Alan Wolfe asked the panel if the proposed City Center Urban Renewal District is too big, but Woodruff said he believes it is the right size as it's best to start large until focal points are identified.

"Focus on the heart until it gets traction," Woodruff said. "There are millions of dollars being invested in Post Falls in the next five years and little of it is on downtown revitalization. Ask yourselves, 'Are we prioritizing what we want prioritized?'"