Bank’s Move Creates Vacancy At Prime Downtown Coeur D’Alene Site

Some significant eyebrows were raised when First Security Bank recently vacated its large building at Sherman Avenue and First Street in Coeur d’Alene.

In common real estate sales jargon, the reasons are location, location, location.

In the Lake City, that location is a four-level, 10,291-square-foot building on 26,000 square feet of property with an unobstructed view of Lake Coeur d’Alene and the immaculately landscaped gardens of the Hagadone Corp. office building and The Coeur d’Alene Resort.

You can bet First Security’s moving party was noticed by Hagadone Hospitality folks when the bank moved its real estate office to its main building at Sherman and Third.

“Yes, we had more than one call from them,” admitted Dick Sams, the bank’s president for its North Idaho Community Banking Area. “They didn’t show as much interest when they discovered we were leasing (not selling) the property.”

Talk about prime real estate. The quarter-block property once was the site of the historic Desert Hotel, which burned in 1972, when its primary tenants were The Athletic Round Table and Chamber of Commerce office. Originally it was the Idaho Hotel, which opened in 1905 when Coeur d’Alene was beginning its resort city status.

The “new” building, constructed in 1977, is across the lawn from the hotel that inherited the old hotel’s prestigious community position. With 100 feet on Sherman Avenue, 220 feet on First and 135 feet on Lakeside, and 40-plus parking spaces, the property is certain to attract a top-level tenant. Leasing agent is Craig Nelson of Beebe, McKernan & McCarty.

Meanwhile, First Security has acquired some additional real estate for its 25th North Idaho bank. The new facility will be at 701 Goude St., across from Super 1 Foods in Post Falls.

The full-service bank should open this fall with a modular unit to eventually make way for a permanent building. The bank will house six to eight employees and include a drive-through unit.

Incorporated in 1928, First Security is the nation’s oldest multistate bank holding company. With 83 branches in Idaho, its customers include 59 percent of the state’s households.

Down the street, at 510 Sherman, Chris Mitson should know before he reads his morning paper whether or not his Lake City Arcade will become a reality.

The Coeur d’Alene City Council, at its meeting Tuesday night, was to decide if the arcade could exist. You see, normally it couldn’t because it’s closer than 200 feet to a residentially zoned area. However, in this case, that area is McEuen Field, which has its own youth attractions of athletic fields and tennis courts.

If approved, the new business will include about 20 arcade (mostly video) machines, snack and soft drink vending machines, a waiting area (for parents) and a redemption area, where customers exchange their winning ducats for prizes.

Mitson said the “family-oriented” arcade should then open this weekend with summer hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and school day hours of 3-10 p.m. Mitson came from Canton, Ohio, 13 years ago to manage Squaw Bay Resort. His family had lived in the Smelterville area since near the turn of the century.

With an objective of offering a wider selection, higher technology and more attentive customer service than its many competitors, Hollywood Video has opened an outlet in Coeur d’Alene.

The 7,500-square-foot store is in the east end of the new Fred Meyer building along Highway 95. Hours are 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. on weekends. Scott Mason, coming here after three years with a Seattle outlet, manages 18 employees.

Hollywood Video has more than 700 stores nationwide. Locally, phone 665-1557.

Brace yourself for the area’s third huge summer weekend. The Kootenai County Fair opens its impeccable grounds today through Sunday. Ample parking and good access are amenities.

The Carrousel Players begin their final production of the summer with “South Pacific.” With near-capacity crowds in North Idaho College’s 1,000-seat auditorium all summer, the thespians attract about 65 percent of their audience from outside Kootenai County. Also, the Mountain Man Rendezvous is at Old Mission State Park, Cataldo.

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