New developments for downtown Idaho Falls

Idahoan Foods' new headquarters, on Constitution Way, should be finished by mid- to late-November.

Compared to a lot of American cities, Idaho Falls downtown district is looking pretty good.

With the recent additions of 3's Co. Catering and Il Castello and the expansion of Pachanga's, there is a growing variety of places to eat and drink. Two corporations -- Syringa Wireless and Idahoan Foods -- have located or are in the process of locating downtown.

"It's one building and one facade at a time" said Bob Everhart, executive director of the Downtown Development Corp.

DDC is the organization charged with finding new tenants for empty buildings, not to mention helping the owners make their buildings presentable. It is supported by tax money from a business improvement district, and any time there's money involved there's a big possibility that someone will feel left out or shortchanged.

But Everhart said he wants to help find grant money for anyone who wants to improve their property, and pointed to the new facade and sign on Karen's Park Avenue Club as an example of what can be done on a small scale to get big results.

The development of Idahoan's world headquarters, on Constitution Way, has gone slower than expected because of the excavation for underground parking, but Everhart said it is due to be finished by Thanksgiving. When it is, there will be 70 to 75 people commuting downtown five days a week.

A few things can be expected in the next six months. State Rep. Janice McGeachin is converting the old Hub Bar, at the corner of Broadway and Park, into an Irish pub, eyeing an opening in spring 2012. Everhart said he is negotiating with a local resident who hopes to open an old-fashioned bookstore in the space on Broadway next to Dave's Bike Shop.

A few big spaces remain to be filled: the ground floor at the southwest corner of Park and B and the old Inkley's building at Park and A, which has been vacant for a few years. Everhart said he would like to see the old Saving Center property put to some sort of use, but recognizes its size presents challenges with the economy the way it is.

Two Idaho Falls Drive-in Theaters for Sale

Idaho Falls' Skj-Vu Drive-In is closed for the season, and its owners are looking to sell both it and the Motor-Vu.

Idaho Falls’ two drive-in movie theaters, the Sky-Vu and the Motor-Vu, are for sale.

The company offering the properties, Desert Crest Corp., actually has two deals in the works. One is for the 9.1 acres surrounding the Sky-Vu. Being near the Snake River between Pancheri Drive and Sunnyside Road, one can assume that this land is potentially primo real estate.

Desert Crest is also offering for sale the two theaters. So if you’ve ever thought about running an “Ozoner” -- the term Variety came up with to describe the drive-in after the first one opened in 1933 -- here is your chance. The number is 360-5701.

Anyone who has been to a drive-in knows it’s as much about the experience as it is about the movie. I have two distinct memories from my childhood: Watching Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller in some feature whose name escapes me (I know, I know, how could I?) in my pajamas with my best bud at the time, Mike Kelly, and our moms. And seeing “True Grit” (the first one, with John Wayne and Glen Campbell) with my father in 1969.

There were a lot more drive-ins then than there are now. In 1958, the United States had close to 4,000 drive-in movie theaters, said Jennifer Sherer Janisch, who operates the Web site www.drive-ins.com. Today, that number is less than 400.

Two things brought about their demise in the ’70s and ’80s -- rising land values and the advent of VCRs, DVDs and the Internet. That trend slowed down in the ’90s, and although she recognizes drive-ins will never be the mass market phenomenon they were in the Eisenhower era, Sherer said she’s hopeful about the future.

“In the last several years we've seen drive-in expansion, drive-in re-openings, and even brand new drive-ins,” she said. “Aside from the unique atmosphere and the fact that it's so affordable, people want good, clean fun, and drive-ins have it."

The Danger of Overpricing Your Home

This is lifted from my friend Chris Pelkota Lee's blog, http://www.if-realestate.blogspot.com/

Thinking of Selling? It's a tough market out there still for local sellers. Still, homes are still selling, and everything will sell for the right price, right? If you just said "no," consider this extreme example: even that 3,000 square-foot fixer-upper house across the street with a three-car garage will find the right buyer quickly if it's priced at only $20,000.

I'm not saying every home should be priced so drastically. That's silly. But this article from Trulia.com points out a few reasons why as a seller it's so important to get your pricing right from the get-go, particularly in a tough market with more competition and limited buyers.
 
http://www.trulia.com/guide/home_selling/home_selling_strategies/the_seven_deadly_sins_of_overpricing/

Ferrell's downtown I.F. building for sale

After 52 years at its Broadway and Park Avenue location, Ferrell's is looking for a smaller place to do business.

"We've got three floors and we only use one of them," said owner Brant Tueller, who has been with the store since 1963. At present, Ferrell's sells only men's clothes, but there was a time not so long ago they had women's apparel, western clothes and everything you needed to be a Boy Scout or Scout leader.

"We used to be a full department store," said Tueller. "(Now) we just take what Wal-Mart leaves us. You can't compete with a company that makes more money than a lot of third world countries."

Sixty-eight years old and ready to retire, Tueller said he can sell the business easily enough. Ferrell's has loyal customers and stocks quality products. It's the 14,000-square-foot building, which he owns, that could take some time, he said. "Real estate is so soft now. The economy is the biggest problem right now. I've been through a lot of bad economies, and this is really serious."

If they do manage to relocate, he anticipates it will be somewhere other than downtown Idaho Falls, which is better suited to smaller, more specialized retail. Ferrell's started in 1950 in the building that now houses Destinations Inn. In 1959, the business moved in when J.C. Penney moved across Broadway. But both Penney's and the Bon Marche moved out in the '80s, and other department stores like Block's went away then, too.

"It's been a good business," Tueller said. "I've raised six children here."

Men's Wearhouse opens in Ammon

I consider it good news when any empty storefront (who hasn't seen plenty of those in the last two years?) gets a new tenant, so I was encouraged this week to see Men's Wearhouse has moved into the Ammon Town Center where Hollywood Video used to be.

The Texas-based chain has been around since 1973, when it was George Zimmer. It operates under the names Men's Wearhouse, K&G Superstores (an off-price retail chain featuring discontinued items) and Twin Hill Corporate apparel.

The chain runs television and radio commercials featuring Zimmer, and the oft-repeated slogan, "You're going to like the way you look; I guarantee it." According to Business Week, Men's Wearhouse targets the common man, with "the neatly displayed clothes in Zimmer's stores [being] designed to cater to the unpretentious guy who wants to do as little as possible to maintain his wardrobe."

Carl's Jr. opening two I.F. locations

Today's scoop comes in answer to my co-worker Cyndi, who asked yesterday what's going into the old Schlotsky's Deli on 17th Street, in the Grand Teton Mall parking lot.

Two words: Carl's Jr. I have no idea how many people here in Idaho Falls will be transported into the realm of delight at this news, but I'm reasonably sure there are at least a few fans out there. In which case, here's something that ought to make them twice as happy. Carl's Jr. is not only putting in a location on 17th Street, but also at the intersection of North Holmes and Yellowstone Avenue, where the Sinclair station used to be.

A building permit has been issued for the 17th Street restaurant, said Brad Cramer, city of Idaho Falls assistant planning director. Because of the limited size of the North Holmes lot, some variances will have to be obtained before work can begin there, he said.

Kelly Grieve, spokeswoman for CKR Enterprises, said they don't have a date set for the opening, but confirmed that two would be opening in Idaho Falls in 2011 or early 2012.

Carl's Jr. has 11 locations in Idaho, most of them in the Boise area, the nearest one in Twin Falls. Its corporate office is located in Carpenteria, Calif. The chain dates back to 1941, when Carl N. Karcher and his wife, Margaret, borrowed $311 on their Plymouth and added their $15 in savings to buy a hot dog cart. His first day in business, he took in $14.75.

In less than five years, they opened their first Carl's Drive-In Barbecue. Karcher died in 2007, at the age of 90. Today, there are more than 1,200 Carl's Jr. restaurants, most in the West and Southwest.

RE/MAX agents join Keller Williams East Idaho

Here's a new development in the local real estate market. Chris Pelkota Lee and several of her colleagues have left RE/MAX Homestead Realty to join Keller Williams Realty, which was Win Star Realty until September 2010.

Lee reports the merger occurred when the local RE/MAX office owners decided not to renew their franchise, opting instead to join the Keller Williams East Idaho office. They have stayed in the RE/MAX building, at 3525 Merlin, and the Keller Williams agents have moved in from their old offices on nearby Elk Creek Drive. A new Web site has been set up, http://www.kwreastidaho.yourkwoffice.com/

"Most of the RE/MAX folks have stayed through the merger, although a new smaller RE/MAX office has opened with a new owner," Lee said.

Chris is one of the more communicative real estate agents I've met, and does a great job of posting interesting links on her Facebook business page, http://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/IFListings. I'm sure she'd like it if you liked her.