Trees removed from old White House property to make it ready for sale

Trees removed from old J.C. White House property to make it ready for sale

The last trees of the J.C. White House’s old property on Sherman and Lakeside avenues were cleared out Friday in a move to prepare the grounds for sale.

Crews are preparing the groundwork for the land to be divided. The Launder family, which owns the land, is selling the Lakeside lots along the back in three separate properties for what they hope will be residential homes.

“In an ideal world, we think they should sell to someone who wants to build a beautiful home,” said Tanden Launder. “They’re well-situated and perfectly flat. Right now, we’re just trying to clean up the property. We’ll be selling the back three in 50-foot by 110-foot [lots]. They’re really attractive: They’re some of the closest buildable lots to the downtown. They’re great for someone who wants to build a home.”

No plans have yet been finalized on the property facing Sherman Avenue, as Launder said there were a number of projects the family was considering.

Crews spent part of the day cutting down trees along the historic property. A big spruce, two ponderosa pines and a big cedar were among the trees felled, observers said.

“It was so unfortunate to have to take down the trees,” Launder said. “Some of them we had to cut down for health reasons. The size of some of the others was going to be a danger to people around the property.”

Launder added the trees would not go to waste. Almost all of the wood, he said, was harvested and salvageable.

“We were able to save almost all of it to get slabbed out,” he said. “It will all be used for slabs. We talked about the new homeowners being able to use some of the slabs. It would make a great story for them to say, ‘Hey, this came from a tree that grew on the grounds here.’”

The J.C. White House had stood on the Sherman Avenue property for more than a century. One of the original homes built in Coeur d’Alene, the house changed owners twice, its most recent iteration a wedding and event facility. The historic house was lifted from its foundation in November and carefully carried to its new home along the base of Tubbs Hill, where it will soon become the new site of the Museum of North Idaho.

The Lakeside Avenue lots go on sale next week. Call 208-661-6408 for details.