Rathdrum opens doors to industrial growth
RATHDRUM — In a move that officials say will provide enormous potential for industrial and manufacturing growth, the City Council has formed a 334-acre urban renewal district in the southwest part of town.
The council on Wednesday evening unanimously approved an ordinance forming the West Rathdrum Urban Renewal District. It’s the city’s first urban renewal district.
“This has seriously been in the works a long time,” said Rathdrum city administrator Leon Duce.
The city initiated the urban renewal action in October 2018 when it contracted with J-U-B Engineers for an eligibility study on the property.
The mostly vacant farmland is near Lancaster and Greensferry roads, west of State Highway 41.
Formation of the urban renewal district will go a long way toward the city’s goal of complementing unprecedented residential growth in recent years with more business-related development, officials believe.
“One of the things the city has always tried to push for is balance — a community where you can live, work and play,” Duce said Thursday. “And this will provide huge opportunities for employment in Rathdrum.”
The 334 acres that make up the West Rathdrum Urban Renewal District are owned by Spokane developer Beyond Green. Duce said the firm already has produced a glossy 16-page brochure showcasing the city’s new urban renewal district and is distributing the booklet nationwide.
“They’re promoting it as a great place to come and build manufacturing or industrial businesses,” Duce said. “They had the brochure prepared and were just waiting for the council to approve (the urban renewal district).”
Beyond Green has been involved in major commercial projects in the area, Duce said. The list includes a 285-acre technology park in northeastern Post Falls where BGI is targeting advanced manufacturing, aerospace, and data storage companies as tenants, according to the company’s website.
The technology park is also an urban renewal project.
The developer also has industrial development projects in the works in Hayden and Coeur d’Alene, as well as Spokane.
Duce said the urban renewal district is divided into two huge tracts: A 115-acre parcel, of which 105 acres is zoned industrial. The other parcel includes 160 acres zoned for industrial uses, and about 49 acres residential.
Duce said officials are working with North Idaho College to consider a technical vocational training center on the site. He emphasized that would require finding a business interested in partnering with NIC.
“The college may be able to provide some additional workforce training opportunities if they can find the right partner,” he said.
The urban renewal ordinance approved by the City Council notes that the land meets state standards as a “deteriorating area,” making it eligible for an urban renewal designation and the tax increment financing that comes with such a classification.
According to the ordinance, the West Rathdrum Urban Renewal District was created to “encourage private development in the urban renewal area; prevent and arrest decay of the city due to the inability of existing financing methods to provide needed public improvements; encourage taxing districts to cooperate in the allocation of future tax revenues arising in the project area in order to facilitate the long-term growth of their common tax base; (and) to encourage private investment within the city...”