Friday, July 9, 2004

Frenchman’s Place gets go-ahead

---

By PAT MURPHY
Express Staff Writer

Unique by most standards, the near-downtown Frenchman’s Place mixed-use project was given the green light Wednesday night by the Ketchum City Council.

A few conditions were attached, such as adding road signage along State Highway 75 where an entrance would be located and working with the Idaho Transportation Department to seek a speed limit reduced below the present 35 miles per hour.

The project is to be built in a triangular plot in the industrial area of the city, bounded by Ninth Street on the northwest, highway 75 on the east-southeast and an alley east of Grumpy’s that would be equivalent to an extension of Leadville.

In addition to a 30-space underground parking, the project would have three above ground levels—the first floor devoted to light industrial tenants, such as woodworking shops, while the two upper floors would be 19 condominium units.

The upper level would be at the same level as highway 75, where an entrance to the housing would be located, while the first floor would be the same level as the surrounding area of shops and stores.

Another stipulation was that the developer, Utah-based P.E.G. Development, and would work with the city and Idaho Power in building underground power lines to nearby Lewis Street.

City Administrator Ron LaBlanc said that underground power lines, and removal of utility poles on Lewis, would be "an incentive to clean up the neighborhood."

Mayor Ed Simon hailed the development as "beneficial" to the area, saying that the property in the industrial area had been "almost a nuisance over the years. I don't see any adverse effects" of the project."

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.