Coeur d'Alene Council Opens Negotiations to Sell Harbor Center to UI

City leaders voted 5-1 to open negotiations to explore selling the city-owned Harbor Center and some surrounding land to the University of Idaho, a decision that begins a formal process but does not commit the city to a sale.

University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene CEO Andrew Fields told the council that making the university’s presence in Coeur d’Alene permanent would improve the school’s ability to serve the region and increase opportunities for intergovernmental and community partnerships. City officials emphasized the council vote simply authorizes talks; it is not an approval to transfer ownership.

The city purchased Harbor Center in 1991 for about $3 million. The building has been leased to the University of Idaho since 2002, under a lease effective in 2013 that runs through 2028. That lease stipulates rent of $20 per month or $3,800 for 15 years, a rate city officials described as far below market. Officials also said the municipality acquired the property in part for the value of adjacent land as much as for the building itself.

Before any purchase negotiations proceed, city staff must remap the property and complete a formal property valuation. Those steps are prerequisites to substantive discussions and will inform whether a sale is fiscally prudent for Coeur d’Alene taxpayers. The council’s action authorizes staff to begin those administrative and planning steps.

Councilors pressed city staff on several practical concerns tied to the parcel. Elected members asked how a sale could protect land reserved for the city’s wastewater treatment plant master plan and how to preserve public trail access that crosses the property. Those issues could shape any negotiation terms or covenants should the council later agree to sell.

For residents, the potential transfer raises questions about public access and long-term planning. A permanent University of Idaho campus could expand higher education offerings and local partnerships, but neighbors and utility planners want assurances that essential infrastructure needs and recreational trail routes will be preserved. The current lease arrangement, running through 2028, also affects timing and negotiation leverage.

Next steps include the remapping and assessment, follow-up reports to the council, and further public discussion as negotiators outline possible terms. Coeur d’Alene residents can expect additional council deliberations before any final decision is made; for now, the vote opens a pathway for talks while leaving core land-use and infrastructure protections on the table.