Old Powerhouse Expected To Give Sandpoint A New Burst Of Energy

The Old Powerhouse may energize downtown Sandpoint once again.

Sixteen tenants are preparing to move in and an anchor restaurant is all but signed as the historic 36,000-square-foot waterfront building prepares for a July 1 opening.

Owners Ralph and Sandy Sletager are in the final stages of renovating the 86-year-old brick building, located between Bonner County Courthouse and Sand Creek.

The structure was built as a powerhouse that supplied electricity to Sandpoint for 40 years. Using Sand Creek, which flows into Lake Pend Oreille, the Sletagers operate Sandpoint Marina from the building.

The renovation gutted and rebuilt the interior to take advantage of the brickwork and 25-foot tall windows. Access to the building has been “turned around,” Ralph Sletager said, with the main entry now through a glass tower. Most of the businesses will have water and mountain views.

A 300-foot boardwalk and greenbelt has been built along Sand Creek and the bike trail. The Sletagers envision other Sand Creek commercial property owners opening their businesses to the creek side and continuing the boardwalk north to the Cedar Street Bridge, the enclosed Sand Creek bridge that houses the Coldwater Creek catalog business.

The probable major restaurant tenant is Applebees, a national chain that uses a sports concept. A dining deck will overlook the waterfront.

Other tenants include: Sandpoint Marine Sales & Service (Jamie and Doris Miller and Terry and Marcy Nordeen); Pacific Far West Travel (Marie Fredlund); Action Contractors and Nutritionist Jane Loeschen (Charlie and Jane Loeschen); Lyman Gallery (Jeff Poole and Shauna Lyman); Merle Norman Cosmetics (Juanita Brodeur and Sheryl Guidry).

Also, InterMountain Resources (Pierre and Cinday Bordenave); Pucci Construction (Skip and Nancy Pucci); Farmers Insurance, The Powerhouse Agency (Randy D. Smith); Mountain View Construction (Bob and Lynne Walsh); Sloan Architecture and Planning (Arlene Sloan); Pacific Far West Insurance (Ron Foster); John E. Windju, CPA.

Others include Finney & Finney Law Office (Gary Finney and John Finney); CWS Enterprises (Craig Story); Swenson Lumber (Charles and Tessa Swenson); Waterfront Property Management (managers Anita Porter and Christa Francois), and Sandpoint Marina (Ralph and Sandy Sletager).

Four or five spaces remain available. For information, phone 263-3083.

A new Subway sandwich shop opened in Kellogg last week, and another is planned for the west side of Post Falls. The company has existing franchises on Fourth Street in Coeur d’Alene and Seltice Way in Post Falls. Other locations being considered are in Sandpoint, downtown Coeur d’Alene and in the Silver Lake Mall-Hayden area.

The stores are about 1,500 square feet. Depending on volume of business, Subway usually employs about 15 people in each store, said Scott McCandless of Spokane.

The new Kellogg store is on the north side of the gondola exit of Interstate 90. The manager is Doug Nelson. The new Post Falls store will be across from Burger King in Expo Business Park off Pleasantview Road. Watch for a late summer opening. Builder is Gary Redding of Spokane.

Pawn 1, an upscale buy, sell and loan store, will occupy a 7,000-square-foot building under construction in River Park Plaza, 2011 E. Seltice Way, in Post Falls.

The Post Falls store will be the fifth Pawn 1 business owned by Mark Silver, Lewis Rumpler and Mark Lax, all of Spokane. The business, divided about evenly between retail and lending, specializes in firearms, jewelry, electronics, cameras, video software, tools and music.

“We will loan a customer about 50 percent of the used value of an item,” Silver said. “We put it in our warehouse, and the customer has 30 days to redeem it or make a payment. We hold all items 60 days and then offer them for sale.”

A few tidbits:

Ironwood Athletic Club has nearly completed its remodeling by adding 14,000 square feet with two new indoor tennis courts and $100,000 in exercise equipment. The former indoor courts will house Lake City Gymnastics, a full-court gymnasium and a fourth weight room. The 49,000-square-foot Coeur d’Alene business employs 25 people.

Tomato Street is the new name of the former Tomato Bros. restaurants in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane. The name is all that’s changed as the Spokane-based company plans to offer franchises nationwide; the former name had trademark conflicts elsewhere.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Nils Rosdahl The Spokesman-Review