Pocatello’s new town square opening this Friday
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POCATELLO — Nearly a year after its groundbreaking, the new city center in downtown Pocatello is getting ready to open. City officials will be unveiling Lookout Point to the public on Friday.
Stephanie Palagi, Executive Director and CEO of Historic Downtown Pocatello, believes that prior to the development of Lookout Point, the recipe for a proper downtown was lacking several key ingredients in the Gate City.
With the city center, downtown Pocatello will welcome its first indoor public restrooms and first public park, along with another noteworthy amenity.
“Every downtown across the nation has a town square in their downtown, and now we have a town square,” Palagi tells EastIdahoNews.com.
Construction got underway last July at 426 West Lewis Street.
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The grand opening will include live music, food trucks, local vendors and giveaways. There will also be ice-carving demonstrations. It all starts at 4 p.m., and at 8 p.m., a “Relight the Night” neon sign walking tour will include the new Lookout Point signs.
“It’s just super-exciting,” Palagi said of the event and opening of the square.
The first event at the new city square will be the Portneuf Valley Farmers Market, which moved from the pavilion on Main Street. The farmers market, running every Saturday from May through October from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., features live music, food and crafts — with produce and meat from local farmers.
Palagi said the farmers market has seen increased attendance with additional “spillover” to surrounding businesses in its new location. She thinks the same will be true of the Revive at 5 free summer concert series, which begins Wednesday, June 7.
“Every Wednesday, from 5 to 8 (p.m.), there’s a live band on stage — a different band every week,” Palagi explained. “We have different food trucks each week … and we have adult beverage, cold beverages and family-friendly beverages. Sit down on the grass and enjoy the sunshine and … the whole ambience of what is now Lookout Point.”
The June 7 season launch will feature music from Whiskey Hangover and food from Smokin’ Buds BBQ, Mighty Dawgs and Camille’s Crepes.
With the extra grass seating, and a splashpad coming to the square this summer, Palagi expects this year to offer the most family-friendly fun in the two-decade history of the event.
“It will be one happy Wednesday after another all summer long,” she said.
The new town square also includes a playground area. Palagi is glad to say it’s ADA-compliant and all-accessible. As she explained, money made by the Bannock County Civitan Club each year through events like Revive at 5 go back to the community.
Around $38,000 from previous events was used to install the playground, complete with a soft-fall surface. Palagi is thrilled to see that money reinvested into the community.
“(The completion of Lookout Point) is exciting for the city of Pocatello and for the community,” Mayor Brian Blad said in a news release announcing the development. “Having this new town square will bring people together in downtown Pocatello for many years to come.”
