[jimthemanincda]

Cody, here's some more info. on the Cabela's project and the rest of The Pointe at Post Falls. It's a 200-acre project and there will be 3 other large anchor stores and 2 hotel sites. I also remember hearing something about Super Target and Lowes being two possible tenants. I'm sure we'll know more in the coming months.

As to Super Target going in, I think with the size of Post Falls now, the city definately can support a second large retailer besides Wal-Mart or having citizens drive to Cd'A or Spokane Valley. Lowes is also a good idea since there is no large home improvement store in Post Falls. There is a Home Depot and Lowes in Cd'A. There is also a Home Depot in Liberty Lake, about 5miles away from The Pointe site, that is why I doubt Home Depot would be building there...

For those who don't know, the Cabela's store will be the second in Idaho. Cabela's stores are known as top-notch educational and entertainment attractions. They include museum-quality animal displays, huge aquariums sotcked with native fish, and a centerpiece indoor mountain displaying "trophy animals interacting in realistic re-creations of their natural habitats."


Cabela's anchors mega site
200-acre Post Falls project envisions mix of retailers, department store, hotels

Becky Kramer
Staff writer
November 15, 2006

Sporting goods retailer Cabela's will anchor a 200-plus-acre development in Post Falls, with shopping space nearly rivaling the Spokane Valley Mall's, according to preliminary development plans.

The Pointe at Post Falls will occupy one of the last prime commercial spots along Interstate 90. In addition to Cabela's, three other large anchor stores are planned. The Pointe at Post Falls also includes pads for specialty retailers and two hotel sites. With about 800,000 square feet devoted to retail space, the development would be slightly smaller than the mall.

Earlier this month, Cabela's announced plans for a mega sporting goods store in Post Falls that could open by next fall. The Sidney, Neb., retailer builds stores that become tourist destinations, with museum-quality displays of stuffed animals and aquariums stocked with native fish.

Not that long ago, commuters occasionally spotted elk herds grazing in the open space along the freeway. The past decade, however, has brought rapid development to the I-90 corridor. Post Falls is stretching westward toward Liberty Lake in a blur of auto dealerships, hotels, restaurants and other commercial development.

Foursquare Properties Inc. is the developer for The Pointe at Post Falls. The project is the first of about six developments anchored by Cabela's that the Carlsbad, Calif., firm will build in various locations, said Jeff Vitek, company president.

The Pointe at Post Falls won't be enclosed like the Spokane Valley Mall, Vitek said. It will also include a different mix of stores, he said. Possibilities could include a department store, a discount outlet and retailers focused on clothing, home improvement, kids' fashions, books and furniture. Vitek said he's received lots of inquiries from retailers since Cabela's announcement but won't announce prospective tenants until contracts are signed.

Cabela's will be the first store built at The Pointe at Post Falls, occupying a spot overlooking the Spokane River.

Vitek said that Foursquare Properties anticipates closing on the sale of the Post Falls acreage later this week. The firm has been working with Greenstone Corp., one of multiple owners of the land, to complete the deal.

Then "we'll be under way almost immediately," Vitek said.

Foursquare Properties has received a grading permit for the site and submitted conceptual plans to the city. After the land purchase is final, the firm will apply for permission to subdivide the land into commercial pads, Vitek said.

The acreage is zoned industrial, which allows for retail development, according to Gary Young, community development director for Post Falls.

City leaders see the development as a boost to Post Falls' western edge. Mayor Clay Larkin has said Cabela's could help revive the fortunes of the factory outlet mall in Post Falls and bring more shoppers and tourists to other nearby attractions.

Cabela's will be near Buck Knives' factory, which is something of a tourist attraction in itself. The two firms have done business together for more than two decades. Cabela's sells Buck Knives in its stores and through its catalogs.

Buck Knives' plant tours have increased since the company moved its factory from the San Diego area to a Post Falls location conveniently south of the freeway, said John Weaver, the firm's vice president of sales.

"People do like to stop and see a manufacturing operation," he said, "… and Buck Knives is considered something of an American icon in terms of hunting."