Hagadone asking for annexation of Blackwell Island properties

Businessman Duane Hagadone is again asking the city of Coeur d’Alene to annex his Blackwell Island properties.

On Tuesday, the city’s planning commission will take up the Hagadone Corp.’s annexation request, which includes 24 acres on the southern end of Blackwell Island plus submerged lands. The man-made island is located at the junction of Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane River, in a former industrial corridor prized for its waterfront access.

Hagadone has real estate and publishing ventures throughout North Idaho, including the Coeur d’Alene Resort and the Coeur d’Alene Press. On Blackwell Island he owns the Marina Yacht Club LLC and Cedar’s Floating Restaurant. Annexing the properties would allow the 380-slip marina and restaurant to hook up to city water and sewer services and expand their operations, said John Barlow, a Hagadone consultant.

Hagadone made a similar annexation request in 2006, when he proposed a $100 million development of condos, shops and offices for the island. However, he scrapped those plans after the City Council, on a tie-breaking vote cast by then-Mayor Sandi Bloem, rejected the annexation. At the time, Hagadone and part of the council disagreed on the width of a public path in the development and a marina slip the city wanted donated for its emergency services boat. Without city water and sewer, Hagadone couldn’t develop the 12-acre “village-style” business park he had envisioned there.

This time around, a large development isn’t on the drawing board, Barlow said. Instead, annexation plans focus on upgrades to the existing marina and restaurant.

“We’re just trying to keep it a nice place and improve it a bit,” Barlow said.

Better lighting, more parking and a larger sales area are in the works for the Marina Yacht Club, which features a waterfront showroom for test-driving boats. The yacht club’s sales have grown since the recession ended, he said. Hagadone Corp. also wants to make changes to the shoreline near Cedar’s, which will require federal and state permits.

Plans also call for “dry stacking” boats on Blackwell Island. Instead of keeping boats in the water during the recreation season, they would be stored in bays on land, a trend that’s become common in the marina business, Barlow said. Boat owners would call the marina an hour or two before they wanted to launch, so the boat could be placed in the water prior to their arrival.

“A lot of people prefer to have their boat stored out of the sun and out of the water,” Barlow said.

Hagadone bought the unincorporated, southern part of Blackwell Island in 2004. Other parts of the island are within city limits.

Tuesday’s planning commission meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Coeur d’Alene Public Library’s community room, 702 E. Front Ave.

The commission will recommend zoning for the land proposed for annexation, said Hilary Anderson, the city’s community planning director. Hagadone Corp. has requested zoning that would allow a broad mix of commercial and residential development on the property. The zoning fits the city’s vision for the redevelopment of properties along the Spokane River into neighborhoods where people live, work and shop, Hagadone officials said.

The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council, which will decide on the annex at a later meeting.