Wow. Fifteen stories. The One Lakeside luxury condominiums will soon be under construction after the 60-year-old apartment building now at that address is removed.

With terrific views of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Tubbs Hill and the downtown area, One Lakeside will be at the intersection of north First Street and east Lakeside Avenue, just north of the Chamber of Commerce building and Independence Point. The $20 million project will comprise 64 living units in 11 levels, three levels of parking and a rooftop club with an outdoor pool.

The ground floor will have a lobby, 1,400-square-foot commercial area and parking. Two of the residential levels will be for short-term leases. The living units will be of one, two and three bedrooms from 750 to 3,400 square feet with deck space and high-end appliances and finishes.

Austin Lawrence Partners of Aspen, Colo., is developing the 125,000-square-foot project. Architect is OZ Architecture of Denver, and general contractor is UPA Construction of Salt Lake City and Vancouver, B.C. As designed, the city will allow a 220-foot-high building.

Cracker Barrel coming

A Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Coeur d'Alene has been a rumor for years for the property just north of Interstate 90 and west of Northwest Boulevard-Ramsey Road.

A few weeks ago, while at the Cracker Barrel in Missoula, I asked the manager about it, and he said, yes, in Coeur d'Alene in June.

Then I checked with the Cd'A Planning Department, and they showed me the approved project review. However, a building permit has not yet been granted.

The plan shows an 8,960-square-foot building on two acres at 1675 Lee Court (where a former garden center has been demolished). It would include a 177-seat restaurant and a retail gift store. The store in Missoula features local items (including University of Montana clothing) and rocking chairs on an outside porch.

According to the website www.crackerbarrel.com, the restaurant offers all meals but no alcoholic beverages. Established in 1969, Cracker Barrel has 633 stores in 42 states with its headquarters in Lebanon, Tenn.

Students can write business history for prizes

If you own, lease or know of a business and/or structure anywhere in Kootenai County that you believe may have an interesting history, you may want to encourage a middle or high school student you know to research that history and participate in the Sesquicentennial Essay Contest on Kootenai County History.

Cash prizes are $250, $150 and $50 for first, second and third-place winners respectively. Rules and guidelines about the contest can be found by going to the home page of the county's website at www.kcgov.us. The deadline for submitting essays is Oct. 31.

Examples could be Hudson's Hamburgers, Clark Jewelry and Hayden Lake Country Club, all established about 1907. Check advertisements, such as Runge's Furniture, in old issues of the Cd'A Press.

And now for the Tidbits

- Another Cd'A Project Review (such as in the Cracker Barrel item above) is for another popular "chain" restaurant, Chipotle Mexican Grill. Although the project is approved, the property at 305 W. Appleway (between Walgreen's and Tomato Street Restaurant) still has a "for sale" sign, so the place isn't definite. The plan shows a 2,923-square-foot building with a restaurant, gear store and outdoor seating. Headquartered in Denver since 1993, Chipotle has about 1,600 outlets.

- A third Project Review restaurant won't happen in Coeur d'Alene. A Chompers Cafe was planned for the southeast corner of the Atlas Road/Kathleen Avenue intersection. Instead, Chompers is planned for February in the Stoddard Farm Park on Prairie Avenue in Hayden.

- Watch for news on Massage Envy in Ironwood Square, Chamira and Climbworks in the Resort Plaza Shops, Cd'A Nail & Salon in Crossroads, Animal Medical Center on Fourth Street and Pinkerton Retirement and Chief Architect buildings in Riverstone.

- Although the One Lakeside building plan looks cool, a 15-story structure in that location may put downtown Coeur d'Alene in a shadow as the sun reaches the west. Some cities, such as Austin and Nashville, have ordinances to prevent this.

- A row in the row of oarsmen was on how to row.

- A product label on the bottom of Tesco's Tiramisu Dessert box: "Do not turn upside down."

- Contact Nils Rosdahl at nrosdahl@cdapress.com.