Downtown Coeur d'Alene: No vacancy

Kareen Link opened Tiffany Blue on Sherman Avenue in 2009. With a focus on designer clothing and accessories for women, it has done well.

So when the opportunity came to expand into the space next door last summer, she didn't hesitate.

"We grabbed it," she said.

Link opened a T-Blue Men's store. If you need clothing for work or leisure, slacks, blazers, shirts, shorts and hats, for all occasions, she's got it. A doorway connects the shops.

"We have all kinds of options," she said.

Link has lived, worked and played in the downtown area most of her life. Her kids went to school there. Friends are nearby.

"It always felt like home," she said.

She has lots of company.

Take a stroll through downtown Coeur d’Alene and there’s one sign you’ll rarely see: vacancy.

Storefronts on Sherman and Lakeside avenues, and side streets, are taken. If they do open up, it’s not for long. 

Lake Coeur d’Alene and The Coeur d’Alene Resort continue to attract visitors and locals to the area. But now, the businesses that call the area home are proving to be a strong pull, too.

“The downtown demand for retail on Sherman Avenue is strong,” said Steve Widmyer of the Widmyer Corp., which owns several downtown properties.

There is almost nothing available for rent. The vacancy rate of about 250 retail/restaurant sites in the Business Improvement District, including “works in progress,” is a miniscule 0.4%. 

The district runs from about Eighth Street north to Indiana Avenue, to Government Way and Lakeside Avenue, bordered by The Resort and the lake to the south.

“We don’t have any major vacancies,” said Emily Boyd, executive director of the Coeur d’Alene Downtown Association. “The demand has increased. Things are moving a lot quicker than they used to.” 

Boyd receives calls from people inquiring about downtown vacancies. Are there any? 

The answer is almost always no.  

The area is desirable for many reasons. Location, for starters, near the waterfront. Downtown is clean, well lit, with quaint light posts and colorful flower baskets. Crime reports are few. 

“It creates that charm,” Boyd said. 

That’s not the story everywhere. 

Globest reported that the U.S. retail property market reached a 20-year low vacancy rate of 5.3% in the second quarter of 2024. That’s the lowest in two decades. 

“This decline reflects a tightening market where quality shopping center spaces are increasingly hard to find,” CRE Daily reported. 

If you include office spaces in Coeur d’Alene’s BID, the vacancy rate is higher, but nothing close to the 20% of vacant office space in downtown Spokane, another study by Keimle Hagood found. 

Boyd said the demand for downtown space reached its zenith during COVID, when calls came in daily from those inquiring about retail space. If a shop did come open, it was filled before anyone could ask about it. 

This was in contrast to the 1980s, when store windows were boarded up and downtown was dying. When The Coeur d’Alene Resort opened, things began to change.

“It's definitely evolved,” Boyd said. “It all started with the buy-in of the community, and they built up a downtown people love."

The downtown is home to longtime businesses, like Clark’s Jewelers, Hudson’s Hamburgers, All Things Irish, Cricket’s and the Ironhorse. 

Boyd said it is an area of small, locally owned retail shops and restaurants that provide a great experience. Those that open shop tend to stick around. 

“Our turnover rate is very, very low,” she said. 

Boyd said they have a variety of retail, restaurants and office space, with several real estate firms having downtown store fronts. 

“You want that mix,” she said. 

Mix It Up Gift, for instance, is home to a Windermere/Coeur d’Alene Realty office. That was the work of a partnership between property owner Pepper Smock, owner of Windermere/Coeur d’Alene Realty, and Beth Rich, owner of Mix It Up Gift. 

“We love to see that kind of model,” Boyd said. 

Rent can be high. Depending on square footage and location, it runs several thousand a month. 

Widmyer said rents have leveled off in the past few years after climbing in 2022 and 2023 when business boomed.

“I think they've stabilized,” he said. 

But demand for retail/restaurant space hasn't. It is only going to reach greater heights. 

Sherman Tower, a 15-story resort by the Hagadone Corp., and six-story Marriott hotel are being built in the downtown area, as is the Thomas George, a 19-story mixed-use development. 

“More people downtown will boost it even more,” Boyd said. 

Widmyer issued a caution before declaring downtown Coeur d’Alene a gold card to success. 

“Make no mistake. We still are a seasonal town,” he said.

He added that the bulk of retailers and restaurants still rely on summer and the Christmas holidays to carry them through the year. 

Boyd credited locals for long supporting the downtown throughout the year.

“A lot of people in our community have built this downtown up to be what it is today,” she said. 

Today, Link also has T-Blue Boutique stores in Hayden and at Riverstone in Coeur d'Alene. The downtown store was her first.

She is confident that downtown Coeur d'Alene, with its charm, warmth and welcoming vibe situated next to Lake Coeur d'Alene, will continue to grow and attract new and returning clients.

"It's very desirable. It becomes this kind of melting pot of really wonderful experiences," she said. 

"Mix in the many restaurants and specialty shops, you have a place like no other. As well, the downtown is a great community of business owners who share ideas and support each other," Link said.  

"Being a part of that really is an honor and a blessing," she said. "That's why we chose to be here."