Since the Atlas Mill site was given the go-ahead last year for crews to proceed, passersby driving along Seltice Way haven’t seen a shoreline wall or green sod or paved trails swaying along the waterfront.

They’ve seen dirt. Huge piles of dirt.

But the height of those piles scattered along 47 acres of waterfront property is slowly dwindling to what will soon become a park, part of a larger development designed to bring families, jobs and tourism to the area.

“We’re getting there,” Coeur d’Alene Parks and Rec director Bill Greenwood said Tuesday. “It’s definitely coming along.”

City officials agree that the Atlas Mill project is hitting all the right markers to finish on time and under budget.

“To the best of my knowledge,” ignite cda executive director Tony Berns said, “we’re on track on all fronts to the Atlas Waterfront project.”

The most recent benchmark crews surpassed was constructing a rocky wall for shoreline stabilization.

“It’s an important element,” Greenwood said. “Without it, we would lose the park. But the people who put this together have stabilized shorelines on the West Coast. The Pacific Ocean’s a lot rougher on those shores than the waters we have here, so I’m confident.”

Greenwood said the wet weather slowed things down.

“With the snow, we kept right on going; it was relatively dry,” he said. “But when we had that sloppier weather, it made it hard. A lot of it is just timing, but the crews kept right on going to get it done.”

T LaRiviere crews are on site to excavate as part of the project, which will eventually boast single and multi-family units, retail shops, restaurants and parking along the Spokane River. The park has been touted as the jewel of the area’s development.

While the crews continue to develop the topography and trail systems, Greenwood said the next benchmark to check off the list will likely be the building of public restrooms.

The city purchased the land for $7.8 million in 2018 and used ignite cda, Coeur d’Alene’s urban renewal agency, to create a district and develop the land. The park is scheduled to be completed this summer.

“I think this is a great public space project that will provide waterfront access for generations to come,” Berns said.

Greenwood said the project reminds him of another property and its public access along the waterfront.

“I compare it to Tubbs Hill,” he said. “I really do. A lot of stuff that we’re doing, when we get it in public hands, it can be such a game changer to the community.”