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Destination ~ North Idaho
In this section:
» Coeur d'Alene is Cookin'
» Casino rolling a hot hand
» Courses offer gourmet of golf
» Preparing the finest tables
» Plenty to go see and do
Coeur d'Alene is Cookin'
North Idaho's mountains and lakes drawing homeowners and golfers galore
If a hot real estate market is one way of determining whether a locale has become an even hotter destination spot, then the temperatures continue to sizzle in the Coeur d'Alene area of North Idaho.
The central point of what's long been a favored vacation spot is Lake Coeur d'Alene, with its 135 miles of gorgeous shoreline.
It's been attracting vacationers, homeowners, golfers and recreationalists for decades, and there is no end in sight. In fact, it just keeps getting more attractive.
"When you think about what has happened here over the last five to 10 years, it is absolutely phenomenal, especially in the golf course community world," said Mike DeLong, the former director of golf at the Coeur d'Alene Resort and now the director of sales for The Terraces, an upscale project of condominium homes right on the golf course and lake.
"I gotta believe it's the simple, relaxed, quality of life that we are fortunate to enjoy and still have the proximity to some pretty major things if someone desires," DeLong said about the drawing cards to the Coeur d'Alene area.
The town of Coeur d'Alene is only 30 minutes from a major airport in Spokane, which makes all of the Lake Coeur d'Alene area quickly accessible when compared to most West Coast scenic getaways spots.
"It's an easy place to get to pretty much from anywhere out West," DeLong said.
"It's a lot more convenient than flying into LAX and getting anywhere."
That's part of the reason for the influx of golf communities in the Coeur d'Alene area, where couples are either finding their retirement spot or families are setting up a second home.
Gozzer Ranch Golf and Lake Club is a $100 million community project on the east side of the lake with a Tom Fazio-designed golf course as part of the project. The Club at Black Rock is south of Coeur d'Alene and the new development has been praised for its Jim Engh-designed 18-hole layout.
And StoneRidge Golf Club in Blanchard, northwest of Coeur d'Alene, is booming after a remodel of its championship golf course.
That $3 million project was one of the first things Bridge Investment Group of Salt Lake City did when it purchased the development in 2001.
"They've taken StoneRidge really to a new level in what they've done," said Joe Geach, a sales associate at StoneRidge.
"It's no longer, you know, a diamond in the rough. It's a diamond being polished is what it is."
And today, StoneRidge offers real estate opportunities with the Fairway Executive Home Sites along the 16th hole, the VineYards Town Homes along the 14th and 15th holes, the Creekside Town Homes along the 18th hole, and the Motor Coach Village, for Class A motorhomes.
"We're offering a diversity of product here, I think that's part of the attraction as well," Geach said.
"Over the last four years, we have actually watched our properties increase in value 10 to 15 percent a year, and then this last year I think it was even more. I think it went up to 20 percent."
It's not all that surprising to Geach, when you consider the natural setting StoneRidge found for itself on the backside of Mount Spokane.
"We're kind of up on the tree line and it dives out into the valley. It's just a pristine valley back here, and it's the beauty of the area I think that really attracts them, and the affordable pricing of our product," Geach said of the spot almost perfectly between Coeur d'Alene, Spokane and Sandpoint.
People from the outside are noticing as well, as evident from this passage in a travel story in the Los Angeles Times, "Coeur d'Alene is as laid back as a country fair ... unhurried and gentle, all of which makes Coeur d'Alene one of America's special hideaways."
There's also nearly all the benefits of a large city. Between Coeur d'Alene and Spokane, there are plenty of opportunities to shop, enjoy the arts, experience culture, partake in a fun festival, or even watch the best college basketball west of the Mississippi in the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
There also are car shows, wooden boat shows, and art festivals galore all through the summer in the downtown and lakefront areas of Coeur d'Alene.
"The events here continue to be successful, and continue to grow," said Mark Robitaille, the vice president for tourism for the Chamber of Commerce.
"Our arts and culture continue to grow in the region as well, and the quality is getting better and better."
And that pretty much goes for anything these days in the Coeur d'Alene area.
Casino rolling a hot hand
By Bob Bostwick
At the ribbon cutting, a powerful sense of pride busted the buttons of a hundred onlookers. Phase II of the Benewah Medical Center was a reality for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in North Idaho.
"What's next?" asked an onlooker.
"The Coeur d'Alene Tribe Aeronautical and Space Administration," replied the other.
They weren't laughing. They were thinking.
The future was starting to look pretty good on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation. Both pride and passion were part of the job - perks, if you will, for all taking part in what was to come: one of the most dramatic economic turnarounds in Idaho history.
That was 1992, about one year before the tribe took a $2.8 million loan and opened a 30,000 square-foot bingo hall. Dramatic success and dramatic growth followed quickly. That bingo hall has long since been swallowed up amid six expansions and the evolution of a $100 million casino/hotel and golf resort.
Circling Raven Golf Club is the most recent addition, but far from the last. With the development of the 7,189-yard Gene Bates masterpiece came national, and even international, acclaim. Yet, it also came with a problem.
"Every time we expand, it's not enough," said David Matheson, the casino's chief executive officer, himself a tribal member and former tribal chairman. "Our vision remains to create something special. As successful as we are, there is much more to do. We have become a destination resort, but we can be a world-class destination resort. I believe we will."
The next step is already planned. It will, as have all expansions, be subject to approval by the tribal council. If approved, ground will be broken this spring to create another 200 hotel rooms (doubling the hotel space), an events center that will seat between 3,000 and 6,000 people, more restaurants, lounge entertainment and, of course, a spa.
In all, 71,000 square feet of new stuff, not including the hotel. In addition, an RV park will spring up along the reservoir, across the highway from Circling Raven. The casino space will grow by 26,000 square feet. It passed 100,000 in the most recent expansion.
"We look forward to trade shows, conventions, conferences, top-name entertainment and even rodeos," Matheson said. "It all started with bingo. In no small measure, it all succeeded through traditional tribal hospitality."
The Coeur d'Alene Tribe employed about 100 people in 1992. Today, it has 1,200 employees. There were doubters. Some even laughed, declaring that the tribe would never pull itself from a century of abject poverty.
They're not laughing anymore.
Neither are we. We're thinking.
Courses offer gourmet of golf
Between StoneRidge, Circling Raven and the Resort, golfers won't go hungry
StoneRidge Golf Club
With Mount Spokane serving as a backdrop, StoneRidge Golf Club offers a 6,684-yard, par-71 layout in the Blanchard Valley that's both challenging to the golfer and enticing to the eyes.
The course has been redesigned, thanks to the efforts of Frank Burandt, who was formerly with The Nicklaus Group.
"He did a beautiful job re-designing this thing," said Joe Geach, a sales associate for StoneRidge. "They really took the time to make it a nice course, a user-friendly course that's very pristine. I mean it's in great shape."
And it's not just a typical 18-hole layout, it's actually 19 holes. There's an extra hole when you finish, a 236-yard par-4 that's perfect for settling any bets carried over from the 18th hole. That's why the hole is called "The Gambler."
The course and clubhouse renovation cost $3 million and was part of the influx of capital into StoneRidge when the development was purchased by the Bridge Investment Group of Salt Lake City in 2001.
The course renovation included restructured greens and new bunkers with famed Idaho white sand.
The eighth hole, a 248-yard par-3 from the longest of the three different tee boxes at StoneRidge, has been listed among Idaho's "Mean 18." Accuracy is essential because there's a bunker on the right side and a lake to the left of the green.
Regular greens fees run $35 on weekends and $28 on weekdays in the shoulder months of April and October. From May through September, rates are $39 and $35. Carts and range balls are included in that price.
More information is available by calling 208-437-4653 or visiting www.stoneridgeidaho.com.
Circling Raven Golf Club
This 18-hole gem next to the Coeur d'Alene Casino in Worley has impressed everyone since opening.
In fact, Golf Digest ranked it among the top 10 new upscale courses for 2003. That's because, besides the great condition of the course, each hole distinctively winds it way through the meadows and rolling hills of this Palouse region of Idaho.
Golfers can virtually let themselves escape reality as almost every hole is separate from the next, and there are no housing developments intruding.
Gene Bates designed the 7,189-yard, par-72 layout that roams through 620 acres, including the 25-acre practice facility. Besides golfers roaming on the course, wildlife is frequently spotted, including elk, deer, moose and sometimes black bears. Audubon International recognized Circling Raven's work with nature by including it in its Cooperative Sanctuary System.
Bates, who was named the golf course architect of the year in 2004 by The BoardRoom magazine, routed the course through wetlands (which impact 13 holes) and among aspens, cottonwoods, ponderosa pines and birch trees.
More information on Circling Raven is available by calling 800-523-2464 or visiting www.cdacasino.com.
Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course
For some of the most unique golf holes and impeccable course conditions, no one needs to go farther than the Coeur d'Alene Resort Course.
The course is known around the world for its famed floating green.
Those fortunate enough to play the course are treated to perfect conditions with fairways more smooth and perfect than greens on most courses.
Scott Miller designed the course, and came back in 2003 with some updates to give it more length and more teeth in spots. It now stretches out to 6,735 yards as a par-71.
While everyone knows the floating green hole, which can be adjusted anywhere from 100 to 175 yards, there are numerous other holes right on Lake Coeur d'Alene that offer tricky challenges and incomparable beauty.
And the attention you receive makes it easier to enjoy those views. Forecaddies are assigned to each group to handle raking traps, finding balls, determining yardages, cleaning clubs and whatever else is needed to make the day as pleasant as possible.
More information is available by calling 800-935-6283 or visiting www.cdaresort.com.
Preparing the finest tables
The Terraces on Lake Coeur d'Alene will impress even those who already have it all
If living in the Coeur d'Alene area with all the natural and cultural amenities it has to offer still leaves you seeking just a little bit more, well, the answer might be just around the corner in July of 2007.
That's when The Terraces on Lake Coeur d'Alene is set to open.
It's high-end real estate at its finest.
The Terraces will be 30 condominium homes situated on a ridge overlooking the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course as well as Lake Coeur d'Alene.
The homes will range from 5,243 square feet of living space (with an additional 1,000 square feet of terrace) to 6,357 square feet with 1,940 square feet of terrace area. The selling prices are ranging from $4.2 million to $4.9 million.
"It's a little bit of a shock to Coeur d'Alene, but when you look at it on the bigger scale it's a good value," said Mike DeLong, the former director of golf at the resort who is now director of sales for The Terraces.
The bigger scale is the market for exclusive homes across the West.
"It's a very unique product because it's so different from anything else on the market," DeLong said.
The Terraces run right behind the 12th green and the 13th tee box of the golf course, and each home has 120 feet wide of frontage with a south-facing view of the lake.
"When you look at it being right on the water, right in town, right on your own golf course with your own boat slip, the convenience is unbelievable," DeLong said.
Included in the ownership is lifetime membership to the Coeur d'Alene Resort Course with no dues, plus membership to the tennis club and access to the private beach.
So far, DeLong says the concept has been well received.
"And in all honestly, Coeur d'Alene is still very affordable compared to a place like Tahoe."
DeLong didn't hesitate when picking the biggest drawing card to The Terraces.
"First and foremost, it's Lake Coeur d'Alene."
Plenty to go see and do
April 28-30 Spring Art Festival
The Kootenai County Fairgrounds will be the site of this festival put on by the Coeur d'Alene Art Association.
June 3-4 North Idaho Rock, Mineral, Gem and Jewelry Show
Unusual rockets, gems and beautiful jewelry will be displayed by 22 different vendors at the fairgrounds.
June 16-17 Car d'Lane Classic Car Show
The 16th annual car show will include hundreds of cars built prior to 1978.
June 25 The Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene Triathlon
Draws up to 2,000 competitors and 10 times that many spectators.
July 4 First Bank 4th of July Celebration
This event in downtown Coeur d'Alene includes a grand parade, a boat parade, live music, food vendors, and of course, fireworks.
July 7-9 River City Rod Run
More than 900 hot rods hit town and bring a festival of fun along for the ride.
Aug. 4-6 Downtown Street Fair
This three-day event showcases the region's best arts and crafts.
Aug. 4-6 Taste of the Coeur d'Alene's
Food, art and music come together at City Park with more than 25 food booths and 100 artists.
Aug. 4-6 Art on the Green
The campus at North Idaho College is the site of this three-day festival.
Aug. 19-20 Cd'A Wooden Boat Festival
The 22nd annual event will feature one of the largest gatherings of wooden boats.
Aug. 23-27 North Idaho Fair and Rodeo
This five-day event includes everything imaginable to go along with a traditional fair and rodeo.
Sept. 1-3 Lake Coeur d'Alene Balloonfest
Hot-air balloons will be gracing the sky all around town.
Oct. 13-15 Art from the Heart
This festival will showcase the arts and cultural activities in the area.
Nov. 24 Resort Holiday Light Show
The 15th annual parade will start at 8th and Sherman Avenue downtown.
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