Legislature OKs $126 million plan to buy Hewlett-Packard’s Boise campus
The Idaho House and Senate have approved a measure authorizing the state to buy the Hewlett-Packard campus in Northwest Boise for state offices.
But the Senate has not taken up a related House bill that would prohibit local property-taxing districts from getting other taxpayers to make up the revenue the districts would lose from a state takeover. That bill appears likely to die if the Legislature adjourns its 2017 session as now expected on Wednesday.
HP pays about $1.5 million in taxes per year to the city of Boise, the West Ada School District and other taxing jurisdictions.
Idaho plans to sell bonds to raise the $110 million it expects to pay for the HP campus. The state plans to spend an additional $16 million for renovations.
The campus includes eight buildings totaling 1.5 million square feet of office and warehouse space on 197 acres off Chinden Boulevard near Five Mile Road.
HP Inc. will lease back about half the building space, 793,000 square feet, for an initial seven-year term. The state will assume existing leases totaling just under 308,000 square feet. The state will occupy the remaining space, whose square footage will increase over several years as the existing leases expire.
Lease payments from HP, the other tenants and the state agencies that move in will be enough to pay off the bonds, state officials say.
The House passed the HP resolution 65-5 on Wednesday, March 22. The Senate passed it 30-5 on Friday, March 24.
Related:
State workers eye relocating as Idaho plans to consolidate Boise offices on HP campus
State officials won’t seek appraisal of HP’s Boise campus before buying it
How Idaho made the deal to buy HP’s Boise campus
Idaho may bar local governments from taxing Ada residents more if HP comes off tax rolls
Idaho wants to buy HP’s entire Boise campus for $110 million, move agencies there
Cynthia Sewell: 208-377-6428, @CynthiaSewell
This story was originally published March 28, 2017 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Legislature OKs $126 million plan to buy Hewlett-Packard’s Boise campus."