After barely a year as executive director of the Capital City Development Corp., Anthony Lyons is returning to Gainesville, Fla.

Lyons said Wednesday the move was “purely a family decision.” He gave no details as to the nature of his family issues.

“There’s nothing other than that,” he said. “I enormously like the city and like the agency and we’ve had a tremendously successful year.”

Lyons took over as director of the urban renewal agency in Dec. 2011. He instituted a streamlined approach that steered resources toward helping start new projects and foster those that were in progress, and away from planning.

He eliminated three staff positions and nearly doubled the amount of money devoted to new economic development work.

"I understand Anthony’s decision and wish him and his family all the best," Boise Mayor David Bieter said in a statement. "I look forward to charting a new course to ensure that Boise continues to enjoy the benefits that urban renewal can bring."

The agency’s board of commissioners will look for a replacement to continue that trend, chairman Phil Reberger said. The board may revisit some of the finalists from the nationwide search that netted Lyons.

“That certainly hasn’t been ruled out,” Reberger said. “Nothing’s been ruled in. Nothing’s been ruled out.”

Lyons said he expects his last day on the job will come sometime next month. He declined to comment on what he’d be doing for work once he returns to Florida, where he worked at an urban renewal agency.