COEUR d'ALENE - Board members of the Lake City Development Corp. voted unanimously to back The Housing Company as it moves forward with plans for a mixed-use development in midtown.

Executive Director Tony Berns told board members during Wednesdaynight's regular meeting of the LCDC that The Housing Company, a Boise-based nonprofit which facilitates the development of affordable housing, was nervous about going forward with the project.

"They're (THC) going to have to start spending money here very shortly on design plans and studies of demographics of the area before their application (for federal tax credit) window in February," Berns said. "This is not a done deal; they may not get those tax credits. But in order to get them, they need to start spending money in early November. What they need at this point is to know that LCDC is going to be their partner in this application."

The development, which is slated for the corner of Fourth Street and Roosevelt Avenue, will be a three-story building with retail space on the ground floor and two levels of workforce housing.

Berns added that the total investment into midtown has been $2.5 million, which includes street renovation and acquisition of property. The Housing Company, he added, has invested an additional $800,000 into the project. 

The city, according to Board Commissioner Deanna Goodlander, is already on board with moving forward with the partnership and encouraged her fellow board members to vote for the same support.

"We cannot expect The Housing Company to continue to spend money on this project without recognizing that the potential for the project is in place," Goodlander said. "It's very costly to do design and start that process. Without our support I think they could just walk away from it."

Prior to the vote, Berns said if the board voted in support of The Housing Company, the company's next step would be to get its plan for the development fine-tuned. Once that plan is fine-tuned, the company will present it to the board for final approval prior to the February application window.

The estimated cost of the mixed-use development is $9 million.

Time was allotted for public comment after the decision was made to support The Housing Company. Gregg Johnson, representing the Midtown Neighborhood Association, told the board that he was working with an unnamed developer on an alternative proposal for the space.

That proposal could be ready to present to LCDC in approximately a month, he added.

"I think we are all open for sacrifice and back-and-forth on everything involved with this piece of property," Johnson said.