Hagadone has new hotel plan

Duane Hagadone is considering building a new tower of hotel rooms on top of the existing resort retail shops on Sherman Avenue, perhaps eliminating the need to close Coeur d’Alene’s busiest downtown street.

The idea tweaks Hagadone’s original plans for expanding The Coeur d’Alene Resort and turning two blocks of Sherman Avenue into a memorial garden. It’s just one of a couple of different alternatives in the works. Hagadone will present some version of his proposal at a workshop Monday with the Coeur d’Alene City Council.

Hagadone was vague Thursday about the new location of the hotel tower but said he is scrapping the initial proposal to put the new rooms on the southeast corner of Sherman and Second Street where the Johnston Building currently sits.

“We feel both (alternatives) are better than the Johnston Building that didn’t connect to the present hotel,” Hagadone said. “We no longer need the closure of Sherman for the ability to expand the hotel.”

City officials confirmed that one of the options is building the new tower, which Hagadone said wouldn’t be taller than the current resort, on top of the resort plaza shops that are on the northwest corner of Sherman and Front avenues. A skywalk already connects the shops to The Coeur d’Alene Resort and a similar connection would be maintained.

“It works better for him,” Deputy City Attorney Warren Wilson said. “Then he could have only one lobby and use the sky bridge to get (guests) to the new deck of rooms.”

Wilson added that the city hasn’t seen any new plans.

Initially Hagadone asked the city to close two blocks of Sherman Avenue, the entrance to the town’s shopping district, because it wasn’t feasible to have resort guests crossing a busy main street to get from one hotel tower to the other. Hagadone proposed turning Sherman’s asphalt into a world-class memorial garden to honor his parents. The garden would be free and open to the public.

The memorial garden idea isn’t dead. Hagadone said he still wants to build the garden if the city is willing to close the two blocks of Sherman Avenue. But Hagadone said the street closure is no longer a condition of building the tower.

“I have stated to them that I still stand on my offer to build the spectacular gardens,” Hagadone said. “But it would include the closure of Sherman Avenue. It does not work to leave Sherman Avenue open and build the gardens.”

He said the change in plans has nothing to do with the City Council’s announcement Tuesday that it may put an advisory vote on the February ballot. Yet Hagadone declined to comment on the potential vote that would ask residents whether they want to close the two blocks of Sherman. In previous interviews, Hagadone has said he is opposed to an advisory vote and that the City Council is elected to make those decisions.

The council will decide Dec. 21 whether to add the advisory vote to the ballot. The council is considering the advisory vote after locals bombarded members and the mayor with requests to be included in the decision-making process. The public poll would be nonbinding and the council would have the final say.

Hagadone said his consultants have been working on the alternative location for the new hotel tower for about six weeks, long before the advisory vote idea surfaced.

“I think what the council was wanting to see from the community was whether or not they want to see that public space given up for a garden,” Mayor Sandi Bloem said.

If the council approves closing the street, Sherman Avenue would remain city property, which means that Hagadone wouldn’t have to pay taxes on the land. But Hagadone would have the responsibility and expense to develop and maintain the gardens.

Hagadone also is asking to close Front Avenue between Second and Third streets, except to The Coeur d’Alene Resort and emergency traffic.

Some downtown merchants are concerned closing Sherman Avenue, and rerouting traffic, could harm sales. The Coeur d’Alene Downtown Association has hired consultants to analyze the plan and the group’s board will vote on Hagadone’s proposal sometime after Monday’s presentation. The outcome will be the group’s official position on the proposal. The board also will poll its nearly 300 members to get their opinions.

Monday’s workshop is the first official meeting the council has had on Hagadone’s proposal. The 5:30 p.m. meeting is at the Kootenai County Administration Building, 451 Government Way. Cable Channel 19 also will broadcast the meeting.

For more information, call 769-2300.