It doesn’t seem right to cheer news that 135 more North Idaho mill workers will be looking for work soon.

But there is a huge silver lining in the announcement last week that developer Marshall Chesrown plans to buy the Atlas and DeArmond mill sites along the Spokane River from Stimson Lumber Co. The purchase of the 80 acres and 1 1/2 miles of shoreline moves Coeur d’Alene promoters one step closer to creating an education corridor, extending north from North Idaho College. Chesrown has always included an expansion of local college offerings in his purchase plans.

Another huge piece of what Mayor Sandi Bloem sees as a revitalization puzzle for the Coeur d’Alene of the 21st century will fall into place when Chesrown takes possession of the property in spring 2009.

Other pieces are already in place: construction of high-rise condos in the downtown business core, a new library, an improving Midtown area, ongoing construction of upscale residences and businesses along the Spokane River, more public waterfront access.

The city of Coeur d’Alene isn’t home free yet as it moves closer to a complete downtown overhaul. City officials and college representatives still must negotiate with Chesrown for land that will link NIC with four-year education offerings located in the old Osprey building on the other side of the DeArmond mill.

The progressive elected officials and community leaders already are working on a master plan for the college area. Meanwhile, they face the difficult task of keeping Coeur d’Alene affordable for middle-class and lower-income families who once worked in the natural resource industry and helped build the town.

That’ll be the next challenge as Coeur d’Alene completes its transformation from a resource-based economy to an idea-based one, with college classrooms replacing the green chain as the symbol of the future. How do you keep a vibrant middle class and low-income families in town when each upscale development drives up housing prices and forces average families, like those represented by the DeArmond mill workers, to move farther from the waterfront?

Mayor Bloem, the principal force in the long drive to save Coeur d’Alene’s downtown, is to be commended for not forgetting that piece of the puzzle and for realizing that something must be done now to protect the community’s working families. “We didn’t realize how fast things would go when we put together the last plan,” she said. “We need a strong plan for diversified housing.”

That includes on-campus housing for future students attending classes along the education corridor. Reasonably priced condo housing in Midtown for college instructors and staff. Affordable housing for the hotel maids, waitresses, cooks, and parking lot attendants who will remain the backbone of the local tourism industry long after the last DeArmond mill worker punches his final time clock.

Coeur d’Alene is a gorgeous place along the waterfront in the summer. Chesrown’s plans for the Stimson mill sites will increase its beauty and educational opportunities. Now, Coeur d’Alene leaders must be careful that their old lumber town doesn’t fracture into camps of haves and have-nots.