Idaho Department of Lands auctioning off lakeside properties

Marc Lutz//September 17, 2024//

The property at 150 Bull Trout Road in Coolin is one of eight Priest Lake lots being auctioned by the Idaho Department of Lands on Sept. 21 in Coeur d'Alene. (PHOTO: COURTESY IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF LANDS)

Marc Lutz//September 17, 2024//

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Eight properties with a combined appraisal value of $10.9 million are up for auction by a state agency.

The Idaho Department of Lands will be auctioning the properties on Priest Lake on Sept. 21 in Coeur d’Alene at 10:30 a.m.

Properties are all lots with cabins and are under lease. The IDL holds the lands in trust for public schools beneficiaries, it stated, but cabins and improvements on the lands are owned by the leaseholders as personal property.

According to IDL, “The current leaseholders applied to participate in the auction. If the high bid is from someone other than the current leaseholder, the winning bidder must pay the leaseholder the appraised value of the home and personal property on the land at the time of the auction.”

The State Board of Land Commissioners, which manages the endowment lands through IDL, voted to auction off the properties rather than to continue leasing them.

Some 2.5 million acres of state endowment trust land is held for nine beneficiaries and the Land Board is mandated by the state constitution to “maximize long-term financial returns for the beneficiaries.” The board approved a plan 14 years ago to divest ownership of cottage sites over time, continuing such auctions through till 2039.

The eight properties being auctioned on Sept. 21 are:

The Priest Lake Cottage Site Lot Auction will begin at 10:30 a.m. with registration open at 9:30 a.m. at the Best Western – CDA Inn, 506 W. Appleway Avenue in Coeur d’Alene.