Tony Berns, ignite cda’s executive director, will be leaving at the end of the year.

Not that he's going to be relaxing around the house for the rest of his days.

 "I feel the time is right for me to open up another chapter, to see what's out there," the 66-year-old said. "The agency is in a good position right now. Fiscally, we’re very sound."

Berns joined ignite cda in 2001 and spent the last 24 years helping create and develop numerous public/private placemaking projects.

Berns cited several such projects, including McEuen Park, Riverstone, Atlas Waterfront Park, Kroc Community Center, Coeur d’Alene Public Library, Sorenson Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities, Memorial Park, and Midtown redevelopment.

"All those amenities really help the community in the long run," he said. "We’ve added a lot of value in the downtown core because you want to keep your core strong. And the downtown is strong."

Berns said some may not be aware of ignite cda's role, its impact and its accomplishments.

"What we do is help set the table for employers to come to our community and create jobs," he said.

It does so through partnerships.

Its main tool is "tax increment financing," in which it uses property taxes within a district to help with projects, such as infrastructure, to make them "financially feasible" and perhaps more doable for developers.

"We leverage the resources that we have with either the private sector or public partnerships," Berns said.

For example, when the agency helped John Stone get Riverstone off the ground back in the early 2000s, businesses came into that new development and created hundreds of jobs over the years, including long-term retail/commercial jobs and temporary construction jobs that built the development.

 It has also contributed to the area of housing.

The agency’s partnership in Riverstone allowed for numerous market-rate residential units to be built, along with some long-term affordable apartment housing units also built by the Prairie Trail.  

Another benefit of what the agency does on the housing front is via the “proximity principle in real estate," Berns said, wherein the agency creates great public space, like McEuen Park, and "people want to live close to these wonderful public spaces and help create new neighborhoods or vitalize existing neighborhoods."

Another example is the partnership that ignite cda had with the Coeur d'Alene School District to save Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts & Humanities from being closed and how that new magnet school has helped the surrounding neighborhood thrive, Berns said.

When it comes to economic impact, ignite cda can track the value creation associated with increased property valuations within its districts. They are:

• Lake District (now closed): realized a $762 million increase in tax roll valuation over its lifetime.

• River District: (still open): has realized a $436 million increase in tax roll valuation to date.

• Atlas District: (still open): has realized a $147 million increase in tax roll valuation to date.

• Health Corridor District: (still open): has realized a $134 million increase in tax roll valuation to date.

 Total to date is $1.5 billion in property valuation increases.

"Pretty impressive," Berns wrote.

Berns takes pride in ignite cda.

"What we do, you can see and touch every day," he said. "I can walk through McEuen Park and enjoy what we’ve done. I can go to Riverstone and know what we’ve done there. That's a great testament to what urban renewal can do."

Ignite cda has faced challenges.

"We always struggle with communicating the value of this tool to the community," Berns said. "It's the only locally controlled economic development tool that Idaho gives the cities. Coeur d’Alene has used it well. Post Falls has used it well."

"We want to keep this as strong as it can because it’s done such great work across the state," he said.

Another ignite cda challenge, as an economic development organization, is change. Not everyone wants change, such as McEuen Park, a project that met resistance in the initial stages but is today roundly praised.

With vision and strategy, Berns said ignite cda has worked with the community, brought projects forward and gained public support.

"Hopeful, everything we’ve done has benefitted the community," he said. "I think we’ve hit home runs on all the projects we’ve done."

Berns, the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber's Citizen of the Year in 2022, said he "has been honored to work with so many outstanding community leaders over the years, creating long-lasting community improvements for the citizens of Coeur d’Alene."

Berns will assist the agency during the upcoming leadership transition period and search for his replacement is underway. He and his wife, Mary, plan to remain in the Coeur d'Alene area and get in some hiking, a favorite activity.

“It's hard to imagine ignite cda without Tony's presence," said Scott Hoskins, ignite cda board chair. "His integrity, wisdom, professionalism, and unwavering dedication have been an inspiration to us all. His legacy will continue to guide us.”

    Tony Berns, shown here in his office, is leaving ignite cda after nearly 25 years.