from the new west blog: North Idaho development
North Idaho Sports Complex Proposed
By Jill Kuraitis, 7-08-08
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The North Idaho resort town of Coeur d’Alene will participate in a study funded by a group of agencies and developers to try to predict the economic impact of a proposed multimillion dollar sports complex.
According to the Coeur d’Alene Press, David Tomson of SRM Development in Spokane said nearly $60,000 for a $75,000 economic impact and funding study has been raised by a group of developers, agencies and organizations. The newspaper quotes Tomson saying, “We believe this will have significant economic impact because there currently isn’t one in North Idaho.”
A company which has conducted similar studies in the Northwest will be hired.
Spokane, which is a short drive across the state line from Coeur d’Alene, has a large sports arena, but holding Idaho events there is problematic because of cost and the differences in state regulations.
Boise has several large event centers for sports, conventions and entertainment, but the 450-mile drive, parts of which are rough, has kept North Idaho teams, businesses and agencies from using them.
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Comments
This facility should have more than one face to it.
It should number one: be completely sustainable and
number two: it should be integrated with the urban fabric of downtown
Adding to the beauty of that great downtown is not a hard thing to do. Do not create a concrete paradise (a building is basically an island in the middle of a sea of cars) nobody likes this. Solutions would be to have a parking garage underground, it needs to be mixed use (stores, offices and what not facing the street), pedestrian friendly (it needs to be positioned so people can walk to it and take public transport to it), it needs to be completely daylight (no artificial lights), it needs to be powered by solar panels and clean hydro power, it needs to have a green roof to minimize heat island effect and this would just be a great place to hang out (views of the lake would be great), it needs to manage and recycle all storm water and human waste, it needs to be passively cooled (using wind and natural ventilation) and passively heated (using thermal mass and trombe walls).
There are other numerous techniques to make this a better center. They should shoot for LEED accreditation and get the best green Architecture/Engineering firm to do the work.
This could be a very great thing for CDA!
The lake needs more such accoutrements to improve its attractiveness.
The area desperately needs more people...