With Powerhouse Event Center out, new plans in store for historic Boise building

The Beaver River Power Station, built in 1912 by famed Boise architects Tourtellotte and Hummel, will soon breathe new life as a real estate office.

Tom Rebholtz, owner of Windermere Powerhouse Group, has submitted plans to the city of Boise to renovate the main level and mezzanine of the 7,495-square-foot building at 621 S. 17th St.

The work, slated to cost $110,000, will involve partial demolition of some interior walls and renovation of restrooms on the mezzanine level, according to the application.

The building is just south of the Boise Connector. It originally produced electricity for the Boise Valley using a coal-fired, steam-driven engine. Idaho Power later operated the facility following a merger with Beaver River Power Co.

Constructed in the Romanesque style, the two-story building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

The power plant stood unused for years before Idaho Power sold it in 2000 to Kowallis & Mackey, a Boise commercial real estate company. Kowallis & Mackey renovated the building into an event center, which was rented out for weddings, concerts and other events.

It closed in 2010 but reopened two years later after Jeffrey Jerome leased the building from its owners. Jerome later recruited investors, who handed over $238,500 for a part of Powerhouse. Those investors later claimed they were bilked by Jerome, who never did purchase the building and who was evicted, following a court order, in September 2016.

The Idaho Department of Finance last March filed a lawsuit against Jerome, claiming he spent the investment money on personal expenses, including home mortgage payments and to repay prior investors.

Jerome denied doing anything wrong and is fighting the lawsuit. The case is scheduled to go to trial in December in Ada County 4th District Court.

Rebholtz’s plans were first reported by BoiseDev.com.

This story was originally published September 20, 2017 at 2:48 PM with the headline "With Powerhouse Event Center out, new plans in store for historic Boise building."