Tribe purchases 358 acres near casino

The Nez Perce Tribe has purchased 358 acres adjacent to the Clearwater River Casino & Lodge as a safety project at a highway intersection near the facility gets closer to construction.

The site is north and east of the tribe’s holdings on U.S. Highway 95/12 near Lewiston.

The property belonged to Tammy Renee Heimgartner, Nadine Jo Whitney and Marvin Clarence Heimgartner before the purchase, according to the Nez Perce County Assessor’s office.

The purchase price was not released in the deal, which closed last Thursday and was announced Wednesday in a Nez Perce Tribe news release.

Some of the land will be used for an upgrade of an intersection near the casino anticipated to start in the spring and take 18 months.

“The interchange project will provide safer and more efficient transportation in this area,” according to the Nez Perce Tribe’s news release.

The Idaho Transportation Department is working with a consultant to finalize the plans, specifications and estimates for the project, said Ken Helm, a project manager for ITD District 2 in Lewiston.

They will be submitted to ITD’s headquarters in Boise for review before the work is advertised for bids, he said.

An overpass with on- and off-ramps for eastbound and westbound traffic running parallel to the highway will replace the present at-grade intersection, Helm said.

“It’s a high accident location,” he said. “This is a huge safety project. I’m very excited. We’ve been working very hard on it for 20 years with the Nez Perce Tribe.”

The Nez Perce Tribe was awarded $19.1 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development transportation discretionary grants. That money is in addition to $1 million contributed by the Nez Perce Tribe.

Other plans for the Nez Perce Tribe’s new holding involve cleaning it up and completing an archaeological survey of it.

“The completion of this purchase will allow us to continue moving forward in our economic growth and provide opportunities for possible future development that will complement our existing enterprises,” said Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee Chairman Samuel Penney in the news release.

The hundreds of acres near the casino are among a number of new holdings the Nez Perce Tribe has bought in the last three years.

Others include the 114-acre site of the former Blue North Mill next to the Clearwater River in Kamiah; the Riverside Sport Shop near Orofino, which has been mentioned as a possible casino site; and the Clarkston Golf and Country Club, which was renamed the Red Wolf Golf Club.

The Nez Perce Tribe also purchased the 34-acre Zims Hot Springs north of New Meadows with a 4,000-square-foot lodge, recreational vehicle parking and hookups, and a covered pavilion with tables; and 148 acres in Joseph, Ore.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.