A
lot of second-home owners come for the three seasons,
and winter someplace else," says Sandi Bloem,
mayor of Coeur d'Alene and owner of a downtown jewelry
store. "We have plenty of sun, but no extremes,
no hurricanes, no tornadoes, no bugs, but very clean
air and very clean water.
"Second-home activity has definitely increased,"
she adds. "We've been discovered, I think, and
I'm fourth-generation here."
Located in the panhandle of northwestern Idaho, just
minutes from the Washington state border, Lake Coeur
d'Alene resembles a small Lake Tahoe. But not too
small. It's more than 25 miles long, 1 to 3 miles
wide, with about 135 miles of shoreline.
The town of Coeur d'Alene sits at the northern end
of the lake, a quaint village with a large downtown
waterfront park, a few blocks of shops and restaurants,
and the Coeur d'Alene Resort, a large complex of lakefront
buildings, shops and marinas.
The rest of the lake is lined with homes, small coves
boasting boat-accessed restaurants, large patches
of undeveloped open space, and a few new golf-centric
residential developments.
Like Minnesota or the shores of the Great Lakes,
many lakefront properties are vacation cottages that
have been in families for generations. Most of the
second-home activity is in new homes and condos in
town or in large developments.
A look at three Coeur d'Alene neighborhoods:
- Downtown. The heart of Coeur d'Alene is small
but features a mix of properties. Older cottages
and small homes sell for as little as $165,000.
New, larger townhouses sell in the mid- to high
$300,000s. And condos in the luxurious 30-unit lakefront
Terraces building run from $3.4 million (unfinished)
to $5.9 million (finished and furnished).
- Black Rock. The premier residential development
outside of town, Black Rock (blackrockidaho.com),
is a full-service, second-home community where most
residents come for the entire summer. It is anchored
by a golf course that was rated by Golf Digest as
the best new course in the nation when it opened
three years ago; a second course by Tom Weiskopf
opens next summer. Other facilities include a children's
club, tennis, equestrian center, marina and two
clubhouses. The community encompasses 1,800 acres
and has 726 home-sites planned, with about 200 built
and occupied. Lots run from $150,000 to $2.5 million.
Finished, two- to four-bedroom homes go for $850,000
to $1.25 million.
- Bellerive. Coeur d'Alene's newest waterfront community,
Bellerive (belleriveidaho.com), is on the edge of
town, and mixes in-town and lakefront lifestyles.
The development has a blend of residences and commercial
space, including shops and restaurants. The 70 residential
units include condos, lofts and single-family houses,
priced from the $400,000s to about $1.5 million.
This article has been copied in it's entirety from
USA Today published on September 5th 2008. To view
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