North Idaho Real Estate Blog Keeping the “invisible” property owners of Kootenai County in-the-know, as if you were here on a daily basis. 208.769.9464 * dreamteam @ nidt . com * Author: Christina Ethridge, REALTOR(R)

Inc Magazine:
Where Are the Best Cities to Do Business?

Our comprehensive annual guide to which places are thriving — even in an economy many consider in recession.

What a difference a year and a deflated housing bubble makes. Inc.com’s 2008 list of the Best Cities for Doing Business, created in conjunction with Newgeography.com, uncovered some of the most dramatic changes since we started this ranking back in 2004. Five major trends were immediately revealed; trends that are shaping the business environment right now across the country and will continue to over the next several years.

The list focuses on short- and long-term job growth. It tells us precisely not just where jobs are being created — a sure sign of economic vitality — but where the momentum is shifting. For entrepreneurs, this suggests what may be the best places to locate or expand your business.

Some of the other areas in this vast region (Pacific Northwest) benefit from what might be called “grey power.” Older, often more educated and affluent, baby boomers are flocking to the smaller towns and cities in this region, bringing capital and, in some cases, entrepreneurial know-how.

1. Midland, TX
2. St. George, UT
3. Coeur d’Alene, ID
4. Odessa, TX
5. Auburn-Opelika, AL
6. Wilmington, NC
7. Bend, OR
8. Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway, SC
9. Grand Junction, CO
10. Greenville, NC

Reminder of list here.

Posted under About the Area, Economics of North Idaho

I found three articles in the Calgary Herald recently (I know there are more articles, I only read these 3).  It seems that Calgarians are loving the Coeur d’Alene Idaho area.  There are plenty of reasons why, that is for sure!

Calgarians flock to little slice of heaven

Calgarians have known what Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, has to offer for years.  Located just 661 kilometres (411 miles) from Calgary, the beautiful lakeside city has long been a destination of choice for Alberta vacationers and outdoor enthusiasts — and with good reason.  It’s an idyllic way of life, and one that is attracting Calgarians in growing numbers.

Buyers discovering hidden treasures

In Alberta, the name Mike Meldman probably means very little to most people — but in the U.S. resort development world, he’s right up there.  Meldman, president and CEO of Discovery Land Co., is in the business of creating resort properties out of nothing.  The newest development for Meldman is on the far shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho, a 280-hectare golf resort on a bluff of basalt — rock that is formed during volcanic eruptions — that goes by the unromantic, but nonetheless intriguing, name of Gozzer Ranch.

Developer puts together pieces of land ‘puzzle’

Marshall Chesrown is the guiding hand behind Black Rock Developments — which, with at least seven projects, is one of the largest residential land developers in the Coeur d’Alene/Sandpoint area.  “I could never figure out why this area had not grown like Sun Valley or Lake Tahoe,” says Chesrown.

Posted under About the Area, For Buyers

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) - Officials with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe have completed their draft of the 2008 Coeur d’Alene Lake Management Plan.

The plan is designed to protect lake water quality. The region is a designated Superfund site because of heavy metals left by historic mining activities, but the lake isn’t part of the designation. Instead, contaminants in the lake are being addressed through the collaborative management plans.

A public briefing on the 2008 plan will be held at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library on June 24. That will kick off the 30-day public comment period.

Article here.

Posted under About the Area

Chuck, my husband, partner and real estate buyer specialist, was out showing property to clients the other day. They were in outlying areas such as Spirit Lake, Athol, Wolf Lodge, Harrison and St. Maries.

One of the properties they visited had pet peacocks. They were beautiful! He even got a 10 second video of 2 peacocks flirting…

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7204945991630094640]

Posted under About the Area, What the heck!?

It’s quite amazing really - so much snow + so much heat = so much water. Here are some pics of downtown Coeur d’Alene. I’ll be posting a video of the Post Falls dam flow in another post.

Posted under About the Area, Activities and Events, What the heck!?

A completed draft of the county’s Comprehensive Plan was unveiled Thursday and is available for review.
Chapters including housing, transportation and education will guide the next two decades of land-use decisions.

During the next month open houses are scheduled:
..May 20 at Clover Leaf Grange in Post Falls
..May 27 at Athol Elementary
..June 4 in the county administration building.
All meetings will start at 6 p.m.

After 30 days, planners will amend the document based on comments received, then re-post it to the Web site. Finished amendments are expected 45 days later.

More on the plan.

Posted under About the Area

A completed draft of the county’s Comprehensive Plan was unveiled Thursday and is available for review.
Chapters including housing, transportation and education will guide the next two decades of land-use decisions.

During the next month open houses are scheduled:
..May 20 at Clover Leaf Grange in Post Falls
..May 27 at Athol Elementary
..June 4 in the county administration building.
All meetings will start at 6 p.m.

After 30 days, planners will amend the document based on comments received, then re-post it to the Web site. Finished amendments are expected 45 days later.

More on the plan.

Posted under About the Area

This is an interesting read - combining history of the growth of the area with “what’s going to happen now” scenarios.

As a surge of traveling motorists teemed across the U.S. in the decade after World War II, roadside motels sprouted up along the east end of Coeur d’Alene’s Sherman Avenue, which then carried U.S. 10, a main east-west artery.

In 1964, work began on Interstate 90, constructed through Coeur d’Alene over a period of 24 years, and the federal highway system and its flood of traffic left east Sherman behind in its rear-view mirror.

Some of Sherman’s ’50s era motels, including the Flamingo, the State, and the Bates, still survive, while others have gone the way of the chrome-laden gas guzzler.

Read more.

Posted under About the Area

This is an interesting read - combining history of the growth of the area with “what’s going to happen now” scenarios.

As a surge of traveling motorists teemed across the U.S. in the decade after World War II, roadside motels sprouted up along the east end of Coeur d’Alene’s Sherman Avenue, which then carried U.S. 10, a main east-west artery.

In 1964, work began on Interstate 90, constructed through Coeur d’Alene over a period of 24 years, and the federal highway system and its flood of traffic left east Sherman behind in its rear-view mirror.

Some of Sherman’s ’50s era motels, including the Flamingo, the State, and the Bates, still survive, while others have gone the way of the chrome-laden gas guzzler.

Read more.

Posted under About the Area

F. Lewis Clark was born in Bangor, Maine, June 21, 1861. In 1884 he established the C. & O. Mill and elevator, the largest flouring mill in the Pacific Northwest. In 1910 Clark built a 15,000 sq. ft. mansion as a summer home in Hayden Lake, Idaho with his wife Winifred. The “Honeysuckle Lodge” was the most expensive home in Idaho at the time.In 1914 Clark mysteriously disappeared and was never heard from again. His wife tried to manage the estate but by 1922 she was forced to sell all of her possessions. In 1989, Monty Danner bought and restored the property. It is now a country inn known as The Clark House.

I found this info by stumbling. Try it, it’s fun!

Google Satellite Map & Streetview

Posted under About the Area, What the heck!?