A Boise developer proposed a condo building near downtown. Here’s what just happened
Update Jan. 15, 2020: The Boise Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 13 approved a rezone request for five parcels on 1.3 acres on South 11th and Miller streets, between West Myrtle and River streets.
The change will allow greater housing density on the lots on both sides of 11th Street. The Hawkins Cos. requested the change to develop parcels it owns on the northwest corner of 11th and Miller for condominiums.
The new designation is C-5DD (Central business with downtown design review overlay). The former designation was R-ODD (residential office with downtown design review).
The parcels do not include a two-story house at 1100 W. Miller St. owned by Teresa and Arthur Hamblin. A caption for a photo used in the original story below incorrectly said, based on a Hawkins application to the city, that their house was owned by Hawkins and would be demolished as part of the condominium project.
“My husband and I own the house and it will not be part of the Hawkins development.,” Teresa Hamblin said in an email to the Idaho Statesman.
Several additional properties a block south, on Lee Street, had been part of the original rezone request but were withdrawn before the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
The story below, under the headline “Developer seeks to tear down downtown Boise homes, build condos in their place,” was published Nov. 27, 2019.
A Boise development company is looking to build 30 to 36 condominiums in a four-story building on South 11th Street between West Myrtle and River streets.
The condominiums would be built at 431 S. 11th St., near the northwest corner at Miller Street. Although no specific plans have been submitted to the city, Hawkins Cos. is considering building condos with 470 to 920 square feet each.
The Hawkins Cos. has applied to the city seeking a zone change for the site from R-ODD (residential office with downtown design review) to C-5DD (Central business with downtown design review overlay). A zone change is necessary to allow the proposed four-story height.
The condo property consists of four parcels totaling 17,640 square feet. It includes two single-family homes and a dirt lot used for parking.
But the zone change request also includes more than eight additional parcels south across Miller Street that are not part of the Hawkins project. They’re owned by other landowners who might consider development of their properties if the zone change is approved.
Those properties total 63,765 square feet and include five single-family houses and a 12,000-square-foot building. Three of those lots are used for parking.
It’s unclear what the plans for those other parcels might be. Brandon Whallon, Hawkins’ pre-development project manager, and CEO Gary Hawkins, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Karla Nelson, a city planner, told the Statesman by phone that she is seeking additional information from Hawkins on its rezone request.
In its application, Hawkins said downtown Boise is rapidly changing and people are looking for housing where they can work and recreate nearby.
“The demand for this style of living arrangement is keeping pace with, if not exceeding, the number of living spaces being built,” the application said. “Boise is growing ‘up’ instead of ‘out,’ and providing additional living options ... close to the core of downtown will maximize the benefits of existing infrastructure and will lessen the demand of housing in the periphery of Boise.”
The area is part of the River Street Residential Area and the Myrtle Office/Residential corridor planning area. Housing there consists of mobile homes, single-family homes, duplexes and multifamily developments.
A hearing before the Boise Planning and Zoning Commission has not yet been scheduled.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 1:43 PM.
