A fence went up at the U.S. Bank Building in downtown Boise. Here’s what is going on
Work has begun on a $1.3 million project to replace waterproofing at the base of the U.S. Bank building in downtown Boise.
The material, installed when the building was built for Idaho First National Bank in the late 1970s, had started to wear out. It had caused small leaks in the 255-space parking garage below the bank at 101 S. Capitol Blvd., said David Wali, vice president for The Gardner Co.
“I wouldn’t qualify it as a problem, but it was definitely a benefit for the car wash down the street,” Wali said by phone.
The leaking water did not affect the Main Street Station bus terminal adjacent to the U.S. Bank Building, Wali said. Buses were able to use the underground transit station without incident.
Earlier this year, Gardner Co. sold the U.S. Bank Building to Laird Norton Properties of Seattle. The repairs were required under the terms of the sale agreement.
“The waterproofing that had been put in place was not doing the job it was intended on doing,” Wali said. “Unfortunately, that sits beneath all of the concrete we poured. So you’ve got to pull up all the concrete and reinstall the waterproofing.”
On the ground outside the building, paver stones and planters on the west side of the Main Street side of the building had to be removed to get to the concrete below. The pavers and planters will be put back when the repairs are completed.
A water system that fed the creek bed for the miner sculpture in front of the building will not be replaced. The miner will pan for gold from a dry creek.
The waterproofing material is a liquid compound that forms a barrier to keep water from leaking into the garage.
“It’s a really expensive version of Flex Seal that you see on TV,” Wali said. “It goes down as a liquid and turns into a solid and binds it from both sides.”
