Granary District nominated for historic register

SANDPOINT — The old Co-Op Gas and Supply Company, known as the Granary District, was constructed in 1934. With a rich farming history in Bonner County, the old grain elevator, which still stands tall today, was used to grind grain for the local farmers.

On Wednesday, City Council members voted in support of adding the district to the National Register of Historic Places, a nomination that will be considered by the Idaho State Historic Sites Review Board on March 2.

“We have been engaged with the Bonner County History Museum over this past year, and it is their desire to actually move their facility into the grain elevator,” said property owner Steve Holt. “So that is what sort of prompted this whole issue of us getting on the historic register.”

The historic Co-Op had a gas station, a grocery store and a creamery for time. In the 1970s, a tire shop was built where Bizarre Bazaar is now located, and the Army Surplus store, which used to be Ice and Fuel, was part of the historic complex as well. The district now serves as a home to local businesses such as Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters and Matchwood Brewing Company.

Holt, who purchased the Granary District in 1999, said he is “proud” of what the Granary District has become.

“We have changed it from something that has been industrial use to, I guess it’s a community gathering place now,” Holt said.

The Sandpoint Historic Preservation Commission recommended approval of the nomination after reviewing it during their January 15 meeting. According to the written request by Ryan Shea, associate planner and HPC liaison, national register nominations alone do not place restrictions on a property. A listing to the national register is honorific, Shea wrote, but can open up opportunities for the owner to obtain grants or tax benefits.

In general, Shea wrote, the nomination is in line with the goals and objectives of the city’s Comprehensive Plan, specifically to facilitate reinvestment in and adaptive reuse of historic structures, districts and neighborhoods; to encourage owners of historic structures to go through the process to be listed on the register; and to identify and recognize sites of historic significance in Sandpoint.

The Idaho Historic Sites Review Board meets twice a year to consider nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, and the public is welcome to attend the meetings, which are held in Boise. The next Historic Sites Review Board meeting will be held on March 2 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Idaho State Museum.

Information: history.idaho.gov

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.