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Editorial: Dealership’s road closure request in line with other sound projects

Sun., June 7, 2015

Takin’ it to the street has its place, and its price.

In Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, officials are reviewing proposals that would further enhance downtowns that have experienced a renaissance over the past two decades. All would encroach on or block streets the public is accustomed to using, as was the case with earlier improvements.

Folks surrender pavement very reluctantly, but the payoffs can be significant.

In Coeur d’Alene, Duane Hagadone would add a second tower to his resort complex. The structure would straddle Front Street, which is already closed to vehicle traffic. However, the street will remain open for emergency vehicles, and for pedestrians and cyclists using the Centennial Trail.

Given the alterations already made to traffic flow in the area, it will not be much of a leap for the city to proceed with a vacating of Front, but there should be some consideration paid for the value of the real estate, even if only nominal.

In Spokane, Centennial Real Estate Properties, an affiliate of The Spokesman-Review, will pay $157,445 for a 17-foot wide swath of Wall Street to be occupied by a new Urban Outfitters store. Wall will remain open to pedestrians and Spokane Transit Authority buses.

The Spokane City Council signed off on the deal Monday.

Larry H. Miller has submitted a much more ambitious and challenging plan for its auto sales complex between Second and Freeway avenues.

The Lexus/Toyota/Honda dealership wants the city to vacate or close the two blocks of Madison Street that bisect the campus already under construction, with an estimated investment of around $30 million.

Although plans are not final, in part because of opposition from some neighboring businesses, the dealership would have the city vacate 17 feet of Madison between Second and Third, and close the remaining right of way. The street between Third and Freeway has been blocked since December 2013 under a twice-renewed obstruction permit. Miller would like that block closed permanently.

The city would receive substantial compensation for an agreement – in excess of $1 million – not just in cash but in the provision for amenities like new sidewalks, lighting and plantings that would extend from west of Jefferson Street to Monroe Street. There would be a small public plaza at Madison and Third, and accommodation would be made for bike and pedestrian passage.

The city already has received $149,000 for two-and-one-half blocks of alleyway along Freeway, and between Second and Third.

Should Miller or a succeeding dealership cease to operate, leases for use of the closed streets would be terminated, and traffic flow could be restored.

That, hopefully, will not happen for a long time. If the work done so far to upgrade the campus is any indication, the project will be transformative, and the dealerships an ongoing source of vital sales tax revenue.

All these projects involve trade-offs. None would permanently block all traffic. And they will keep important businesses in or near the core of the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane downtowns.

A massaged Larry H. Miller plan will go to the Design Review Board in July. Unless public safety issues arise, this is a streetwise project.