POST FALLS — Progress was the theme for Mayor Randy Westlund's State of the City speech Tuesday. 

While on the pavilion stage at Q'emiln Park, he spoke of collaboration, infrastructure and the future for Post Falls. He also spoke about something that has long been on the minds of Post Falls residents: a prospective downtown. 

“Post Falls is going to have a charming downtown. This has been on the wish list for a very long time, and it's finally starting to happen,” Westlund said.

Westlund said the tumult that has prevented Post Falls’ downtown development has finally settled. He announced that more mixed-use and retail buildings, community spaces for public gathering, sidewalks and infrastructure are in the near future for the downtown area.

“We won’t have to go to Coeur d’Alene or Spokane to do interesting things anymore,” Westlund said. 

He also said the city is attempting to build some infrastructure before development fully arrives, in hopes of keeping progress moving quickly, citing sidewalks and parking.   

“That will unlock a lot of possibilities for coming in and for investing in downtown,” Westlund said. 

He also mentioned big plans for the train tracks running through downtown, saying the city is looking to turn them into a walking path that runs through the middle of downtown. Attached to the walking path would be outdoor dining areas, a park, restaurants and even a little arboretum. 

“We’re going to have that downtown that creates the culture that creates the spaces to come and do things,” he said. 

Westlund also emphasized bringing manufacturing and jobs to what he calls the industrial corridor near Pleasant View Road on the western side of Post Falls. He said the city applied to designate the area as an Opportunity Zone and is awaiting the results of that application. 

“I think things need to be made in America, where we have that pride in what we’re doing,” he said. “America competes on technology and innovation.” 

He also discussed the possibility of nuclear energy in the area and said he was looking into small modular reactor technology that is the size of a shipping container.

“A totally different technology than what the nuclear energy was from decades ago,” he said.    

Westlund said the interest in nuclear energy stemmed from energy costs and from trying to mitigate how manufacturing could cause them to rise. 

He also admitted that Post Falls' housing costs are nothing to laugh at, but that City Hall is working to establish smaller, cheaper and attainable worker housing in the city. 

“Getting younger families on that ladder is very important and sort of prioritizing home ownership, making it attainable, is a really great goal,” he said. “I think we’ve done a lot with that.” 

Westlund ended the speech by discussing the many moving parts involved in developing Post Falls and City Hall’s hard work in making it happen. He said Post Falls was moving out of its “adolescent phase” and growing into the city that people hope it can be. 

“What that looks like? I don’t think any of us know exactly, because it’s defined by everyone,” he said. “We’re sort of working together on those different parts, being co-creators of whatever comes next and it’s an exciting thing to be a part of.”