UI Sandpoint site is ‘going to happen’

A proposal to open a University of Idaho campus in Sandpoint using private money needs only the approval of the state Board of Education for construction bids to open, and members have already expressed support.

“It’s going to happen,” board member Sue Thilo, of Coeur d’Alene, predicted.

Under the proposal, the nonprofit Wild Rose Foundation, operated by Coldwater Creek Chairman and CEO Dennis Pence, will buy a 77-acre site off North Boyer Road from the UI for $6.25 million, construct buildings and help pay for course offerings.

The foundation’s estimated contribution is around $30 million, said Larry Branen, associate vice president for the university in North Idaho.

The Sandpoint City Council unanimously approved conditional-use and development permits Wednesday that will allow construction on the site currently owned by the UI.

“As far as approving the concept and moving forward, we’re done,” Sandpoint Mayor Ray Miller said of the city’s role. “As far as turning dirt and actually doing something, we’ve got to wait for the board.”

The board will consider the proposal at its August meeting in Twin Falls.

Supporters hope to offer classes beginning in fall 2009, Branen said. As many as 400 students could begin classes there, he said, with room for up to 1,000 students.

UI administrators briefed the board on the proposal in February and heard largely positive feedback.

Branen was in Sandpoint on Thursday working on a final proposal for the state board, which is due next week. The plan has grown from when it was first pitched publicly in February to include more money from the foundation and more buildings, Branen said.

The campus plan that will be presented to the state board will include a performing arts building, a student union center, an administrative building with classroom space and an agriculture and biological sciences building. The university plans to offer a new “integrated, interdisciplinary undergraduate degree” at the campus that covers agriculture, natural resources, biology, the humanities and a range of other areas, Branen said.

If the proposal is approved, UI research programs now located at the Sandpoint property would move to a nearby 15-acre parcel provided by the foundation. A portion of the 77-acre property would be given to the Lake Pend Oreille School District but would revert to the UI if construction doesn’t start within 20 years.

City Councilman Steve Lockwood suggested approving only the UI portion of the campus proposal at Wednesday’s meeting, but his motion was voted down out of concern that the state board would take it to mean the city wasn’t in full support of the proposal, Miller said.

“The rest of the councilors decided we wanted to send a positive, very aggressive message,” Miller said. “All in all, it went fairly smooth. Which is a no-brainer; it should have.”

Pence started the Coldwater Creek clothing company as a catalog business in 1984 and has experienced booming growth over the past several years.

“It’s a huge company, and he’s recognizing the value of a well-educated work force,” Thilo said.

Bringing a university campus to the company’s hometown of Sandpoint will benefit everyone, Miller said.

“Having that facility will attract the kind of businesses we’re trying to attract,” Miller said. “The businesses that are already here will have the opportunity to expand and develop their work force.”

Thilo agreed.

“You could say it’s self-serving, but it’s also very generous,” she said.

A phone call to a Coldwater Creek spokesman regarding the proposal was not returned.

Reporter Meghann M. Cuniff can be reached at (208) 765-7129 or by e-mail at meghannc@spokesman.com.