Cedar Street Bridge is transforming

SANDPOINT – Just about 10 years ago, Shery Meekings was trading out janitorial duties in exchange for a small art studio space on the mostly vacant Cedar Street Bridge.

As of last month, she and her husband, Scott, are running the place and already signing up new tenants, following the purchase of the public marketplace spanning Sand Creek by a Florida investor named Jim Gissy.

Even before the sale closed on Dec. 1, the partnership had proven to be a positive addition to downtown Sandpoint, as the bridge was lit up for the holidays in a way it hadn’t been for years. Literally and figuratively, it seemed like a harbinger of brighter days ahead for a property that has had more than its shares of ups and downs since a tumble-down, blocked-off bridge at the east end of Cedar Street was first transformed by local entrepreneur Scott Glickenhaus in the early 1980s.

“It’s a miracle,” Shery Meekings said, surrounded by holiday decorations that still festoon the bridge market. “Jim flew to Sandpoint in September and spent four hours with my husband. He thought about it for a couple of days and then wired the money.”

The surprise investor was just the latest link in a chain of serendipity leading up to the sale. Meekings and her board of directors for Creations for Sandpoint – a community art space on the Cedar Street Bridge and one of two shops she owns there, including the Carousel boutique – had been wondering aloud whether the marketplace was the right home for the publicly available art space concept. A Realtor on the board mentioned that she might have a prospective buyer should the bridge ever hit the market.

The dominoes fell quickly from there and Gissy was making arrangements to travel to North Idaho for a look-see. Perhaps the most notable aspect of that decision is the fact that, until last month, his investment portfolio has been focused exclusively on high-end properties in his home state of Florida.

“We asked him, ‘Why here? You don’t even invest outside of Florida and the bridge is half vacant,’” Meekings said.

Gissy’s response was based on several factors. For one, he had recently completed the Cocoa Beach Pier project to create an open marketplace on a pier in Florida. Too, he was attracted to the images of the Cedar Street Bridge vaulting over Sand Creek – as inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Florence – with the mountains on one side and the lake on the other.

But in the end, it was something less tangible that sealed the deal. Behind the real estate itself, the investor saw another kind of potential in play.

“Jim has a unique business mind,” Meekings said. “He listens to soul; he sees dreams and hard work and he wants to make a difference.”

That might explain why, as Christmas approached, Gissy contacted the couple to share his impression that the Cedar Street Bridge needed to be brightened up for the holidays. Get some Christmas lights and decorations up, he directed. When the Meekings reminded him that the sale was still pending at the time, he didn’t bat an eye as he asked, “Will $10,000 cover it?” and promptly sent the funds.

“This building hasn’t been lit up like this for I don’t know how long,” said Meekings. “It has already made a huge difference – and that’s just the start.”

The change in lighting alone was enough to lift the spirits of merchants who now fill the street level and, with the advent of a new investor, have come to see the empty upper level as opportunity waiting to be realized – a glass half full, if you will.

“The bond we have now among the merchants in this building?” Meekings mused. “I haven’t seen anything like it in 10 years – and I’ve been here that whole 10 years.”

Within two weeks, a high-end jeweler will be setting up shop on the bridge. According to Meekings, the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce also has plans to establish an information center there.

Both new tenants will be surrounded by activity during the early months of 2019, since Scott Meekings, in his role as managing partner, will be overseeing the repainting of the interior walls, as well as installation of new carpet throughout and a total renovation of the public rest rooms upstairs.

New signage on the north side of the building will greet drivers on the Sand Creek Byway with the words: “Welcome to historic downtown Sandpoint – next right.”

As this year progresses, work will move outdoors as the exterior of the bridge gets a facelift, including a brighter paint scheme, fire pits and seating overlooking the water, blue trim lighting to tie into the byway and the Power House nearby and a new rock and flagstone façade at the entrance to match ongoing city renovations of the downtown core.

Compare that with Meekings’ first impression a decade ago, when then-owners John Gillham and Jeff Bond were looking for ways to attract tenants for a property that was just moving into the depths of a global recession. It was Gillham, she said, who encouraged her to open Creations, though she had reservations when first viewing the property.

“When I first walked into this building, it was just the Cedar Street Bistro up front and the rest was empty,” she said. “It felt like you were standing on a runway.”

One constant has been the influx of tourist traffic during the summer and winter months and the memories those visitors share about the public market over Sand Creek.

“I’ve heard the stories about what the bridge was like at the beginning – all the events and the shops and restaurants and the merchants with their carts,” said Meekings. “I didn’t get to live that, but I love to hear how the bridge has impacted so many lives.

“All those tourists who still come every single year because they have such a love for this place are going to be surprised to find the Cedar Street Bridge is fun to visit again,” she added. “It’s alive again.”

For locals and tenants, the re-energized atmosphere should be equally exciting, particularly since interest already appears to be building for spaces on the upper level. Prone to dream big and color outside the lines, Meekings has a wide range of options in mind when considering what a vibrant and fully leased bridge might look like going forward.

Discussions are underway for a culinary class space in the former Henry Villard restaurant upstairs. A chunk of the vacant upper level could also be used as a common office area, where entrepreneurs and professional business people work out of smaller offices while sharing a communal boardroom and office costs.

“If someone needs a small office, they instantly become part of a community by being here on the bridge, instead of just being crammed into a little, 200-square-foot box all day,” Meekings said, noting the friendships that have formed between merchants there. “Plus, you get to feel like you’re on a gigantic cruise ship all day – the views are incredible.”

She shrugs off the reputation the property has had since Coldwater Creek vacated the space in 2006, and a string of subsequent tenants struggled to make a go of it. In recent years, she has watched that trend begin to turn around, as endeavors such as Creations, Carousel and the Cedar Street Bistro – which, combined, account for close to 10,000 square feet on the bridge – have thrived and expanded.

“And in just one month’s time, we’ve leased more than 3,500 square feet of space,” she said. “With all the renovation and the new signage, we’re going to light the fire again.

“We have tons of work to do and I can’t wait to get started,” she added. “This summer, when all those tourists come in to visit the Cedar Street Bridge, we’re going to be packed – and it’s going to be a party.”