Work will start soon on Parkside Condominium

With the impending dismantling of the Social Security building, the major construction of Coeur d’Alene’s highest – but apparently not tallest – building will start soon.

At 213 feet, the 20-story Parkside Condominium tower on Front Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets will be almost as tall as the tower of the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

Although the resort tower is 18 stories, its peaked roofs make the two high-rises about equal. Parkside, however, rests on a higher elevation, so it will appear higher than the resort.

The Verizon Building, at Seventh and Wallace, was bought by the Parkside developers and is being remodeled to accommodate Social Security’s 20 employees. They should move into the 7,500-square-foot main level of the Verizon building next month.

Verizon equipment will share the lower level with NightHawk Radiology, temporarily expanding from its current home in the Coeur d’Alene North condominium off Northwest Boulevard.

All 53 residential Parkside units are sold with a starting price around $400,000. Beginning on the sixth floor, all are 1,900 to 2,400 square feet with balconies. Penthouses of 3,000 to 4,000 square feet are on the top level. Monte Miller and Dick Stauffer, of Miller Stauffer Properties, will own the 309,000-square-foot building.

Four levels below ground level will have 254 parking spaces. The main floor, or plaza level, will have an atrium lobby with retail shops and a lunch and dinner restaurant owned by Steve Widmyer and Michael DePasquale, the latter of Michael D’s restaurant on Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive.

Although retail spaces remain available, other likely occupants include an art gallery, women’s clothing boutiques, an eyewear and optometrist business and a day spa. The second floor will have offices of Miller-Stauffer Architects, a fitness center for building occupants and 13,000 square feet of office space available.

The tower begins on the third floor, which will open onto a 3,000-square-foot terrace on the west and a 10,000-square-foot terrace on the east. A food court, operated by the restaurant below, will overlook the atrium lobby from the third floor, which also has three office suites totaling 7,000 square feet available. NightHawk Radiology will have the fourth floor and half of the fifth.

Parkside will occupy the south half of the block and should be complete in late 2007. Miller Stauffer owns four of the six lots, including the Icy Cream and Breakfast Nook properties, on the north half of the block. But the firm has no definite plans. For information on available retail and office space, call (208) 664-1773.

Distributor triples space

The 40 employees of Centennial Distributing will move into their new, 56,000-square-foot facility Monday at 701 Buckles Road in Warren Business Park in Hayden. They’re leaving a 20,000-square-foot space at 500 W. Dalton Ave., where neighboring Coeur d’Alene Building Supply will expand.

A 45-year-old company, Centennial distributes Anheuser-Busch beer products (primarily Budweiser and Michelob brand names) in Idaho’s five northern counties. The new place has a chilled warehouse, offices and a hospitality room.

The owners are Mark and Elsa Duvall, who came from Boise in 1990. They originally are from the St. Louis area and Bogota, Colombia, respectively.

Dealers sought

Two antique malls plan early March openings in Coeur d’Alene, and both are looking for dealers to fill the spaces.

Owners Mary Ann and Gerry McCray hope to open the Antique Corner in the former Instant Replay Sports building on Fourth Street with about 40 dealers. They hope to later expand to as many as 70 dealers in the 7,000-square-foot building. Custom Framing also will be in the building, where about 700 square feet is available to a business that doesn’t sell antiques, collectibles or art and crafts.

The McCrays came from Lemoore, Calif., in 1986. Their business will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Phone: (208) 667-8250.

The 7,500-square-foot building at 3650 Government Way that formerly housed the Coeur d’Alene Antique Mall will become the Government Way Antique Mall. Owner Glenn Gatherer will expand from his existing mall at U.S. 95 and Haycraft Avenue. The mall has moved to Kathleen Avenue next to LouLou’s Sporting Goods.

With 20 years of experience in the antique business, Gatherer hopes to have 50 dealers in the new mall, which will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 to 4 Sundays. He previously owned Davis Donuts on Fourth Street. Phone: (208) 769-7317.

Tidbits

“A new on-the-job-training program to help qualified businesses reduce costs of training certain employees is offered by Idaho Commerce & Labor, formerly Job Service. Funded through the Workforce Training Act, the program will reimburse businesses an average of $1,500 to $2,000 per employee for training costs for hiring eligible disadvantaged workers. Phone: (208) 769-1558.

“Recent restaurant closings in Coeur d’Alene include Coeur d’Gourmet on Northwest Boulevard, Mike’s Coeur d’Alene Cafe on Sherman Avenue and the Tartan Cafe on Fourth Street.