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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

LCDC Likely To Help Buy Waterfront

The city of Coeur d’Alene has reached a tentative agreement with BNSF Railway to purchase 2 miles of railroad right-of-way along the Spokane River for future trails and parks. The railroad hasn’t used the line since Coeur d’Alene’s last waterfront sawmill shut down, but it took years of negotiations for BNSF and city officials to reach an agreement on price, said Mike Gridley, Coeur d’Alene city attorney. At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, staff will ask the council for approval to finalize the $2.5 million purchase. The 20 acres is appraised at $4.3 million, said Gridley, who credited U.S. Sen. Jim Risch’s office and the Kootenai County commissioners for supporting the plan and helping persuade the railroad to accept the final price. Urban renewal funding from the Lake City Development Corp. is expected to contribute to the purchase/Becky Kramer, SR. More here.

Question: Does this sound like a good deal to you?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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