Affordable apartments. 100s of houses, some facing resistance. Coming (or not) near you
The latest proposed developments, other construction projects and new businesses around Idaho’s Treasure Valley:
Boise
Cameron Investments, a Boise company, is seeking a zone change for 0.36 acres at 1522 W. State St.
If approved, the change would help clear the way for the company to build a seven-story apartment building on the property, now occupied by a convenience store.
The building would include about 115 units, according to floor plans, including affordable and workforce housing. It would also have businesses on the first and second floors, the Statesman reported in November.
The requested change is from PCDD (pedestrian commercial with downtown design review overlay) to C-5DD/DA (central business district with downtown design review overlay and a development agreement).
Boise’s Planning and Zoning Commission plans a hybrid public hearing on the project at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14. It will accessible in-person at 150 N. Capitol Blvd. or online by visiting cityofboise.org/virtual-meetings.
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Envision 360 Homes of Meridian is seeking a permit to build a six-plex apartment building at 5165 E. Warm Springs Ave, at Harris Ranch Commons. A two-story building with 6,716 square feet also is planned.
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Juniper restaurant is seeking a permit to remodel its space at 211 N. 8th St. The work would include replacement of the bar, installation of a new pizza oven and light fixtures.
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Ahern Rentals of Henderson, Nevada, is seeking an occupancy certificate for its heavy construction equipment rental business at 7126 W. Victory Road.
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Willamette Dental is seeking a permit to pour a foundation at 607 N. Mitchell St. The Hillsboro, Oregon, company has offices in Boise, Meridian and Twin Falls.
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Primary Health is seeking a permit to build a an urgent care and family medicine clinic at 7350 W. Victory Road. The building would have 6,340 square feet.
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SOS Apparel, which offers skate/street shirts, hats, jackets, sweatshirts and seasonal clothing, has opened a store at 104 S. Capitol Blvd.
Co-owned by Ian Hoey, a clothing designer, the store “aims to be a voice for Boise’s counterculture and more,” a news release said.
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Zoom Care leased 1,950 square feet of retail space at 1129 S. Broadway Ave., Colliers International Idaho reported.
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Bassett Salon Solutions Inc. leased 1,496 square feet of retail space at 5006 W. Emerald St., Colliers International Idaho reported.
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Sharon Yap is seeking to operate a licensed day care center at 1214 N. Cole Road. The center would have space for 36 children ages 3 to 6 years old.
The center would be called Montessori School of Boise — Casa dei Bambini, according to city filings. Yap would be the director.
Boise’s Planning and Zoning Commission plans a hybrid public hearing on the project at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14. It will accessible in-person at 150 N. Capitol Blvd. or online by visiting cityofboise.org/virtual-meetings.
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Wiseco LLC, a company registered to Tyson J. Wise of Boise, is seeking to build 14 townhouses on 0.9 acres at 3435 N. 33rd St.
Each building in the development, known as the Forsythia Commons subdivision, would be 2 stories tall. The townhomes themselves would be three-bedroom units with roof decks and two-car garages.
Boise’s Planning and Zoning Commission plans a hybrid public hearing on the project at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14. It will accessible in-person at 150 N. Capitol Blvd. or online by visiting cityofboise.org/virtual-meetings.
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Meridian
The Meridian City Council voted to continue a hearing on the Pure Vida Ridge Ranch subdivision, which would be located at 3727 Lake Hazel Road.
The project includes 127 single-family attached homes and 30 detached homes. The council wanted to give the applicant time to respond to concerns before potentially voting against the project.
The hearing is set to be continued at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021.
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Kristen McNeill of The Land Group is seeking a final plat on the Chukar Ridge subdivision, which would consist of 63 homes on 15.4 acres at 4005 N. McDermott Road.
The project is scheduled to go before the Meridian City Council at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 22.
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The Meridian Library applied to build restrooms and a janitor’s closet in the shell of the new Orchard Park library branch expected to open in late 2021.
The branch will have 15,000 square feet and will include an “inclusive hands-on learning lab featuring emerging technology” as well as 24-hour holds pickup and a drive-up book return.
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Clayton Griffiths Dental Office plans to occupy 3809 E. Amity Road, Suite 150, according to city filings. The office will be 3,037 square feet.
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Nampa
Local franchise owner Justin May has opened his third Firehouse Subs shop in the Treasure Valley at at 1275 N. Happy Valley Road.
May opened his first Firehouse Subs restaurant in Boise in 2013, followed by one in Meridian in 2014.
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Eagle
Woodbridge Pacific Group, a Mission Viejo, California, luxury-home builder and developer, purchased 41.2 acres of land on West Moon Valley Road in Eagle, Colliers International Idaho reports.
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Star
Michael Sessions, represented by Wendy Shrief of JUB Engineers, is seeking a development agreement, a preliminary plat, an annexation and a zoning of 21.3 acres south of West New Hope Road.
The land would be used to build the Sellwood Place subdivision, which would consist of 76 homes and 12 common lots.
The Star City Council plans a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021, at Star City Hall, 10769 W. State St. Visit staridaho.org for information on virtual hearings.
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The Star City Council voted Tuesday to table the RiverCreek Landing subdivision, a project that would bring 147 homes across 34.8 acres to North Pollard Lane, until Feb. 2, 2021.
The council had concerns about the density of the project and about the neighbors’ objections.
Council members directed the applicant, Developing Properties LLC, a company registered to Heather Meck of Eagle, to adjust the density closer to 3 units per acre than the almost 4 units per acre originally planned.
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Around Idaho
High-priced Ketchum is on track to get some affordable apartments.
GMD Development LLC, of Seattle, in partnership with Ketchum Community Development Corp., says it will receive federal tax credits awarded through the Idaho Housing and Finance Association in 2021.
Those tax credits are used to encourage affordable housing profitable by making it profitable to build. The credits will effectively contribute $12.1 million toward the building of 56 units on the current City Hall site in downtown Ketchum, which the city will lease to the developers.
“Getting approval on tax credits for Ketchum has been challenging,” GMD owner Greg Dunfield said in a news release. “This was our third attempt in as many years and our perseverance has finally paid off.“
The apartments will be named Bluebird Village. Tentative plans call for two buildings each with three stories of apartments over one floor of parking, storage, management, amenity, and commercial space.
Bluebird will include “deeply affordable” units for people at 30% to 50% of area median income, “workforce” units for people earning 60% to 70% of the median, and three market-rate units.
The 2020 median household income for a family of four in Blaine County is $78,400, the developers said. This means the project will serve households earning between $16,000 and $60,900, depending on unit type and household size.
The more deeply targeted units’ rent are projected to range from $438 to $666 per month for one-bedroom units and $856 for two-bedroom units. Monthly rent for one- and two-bedroom workforce units will range from $856 to $1,200, and three-bedroom units from $990 to $1,510. These rents may change based on future median incomes.
“Our service workers, nurses, firefighters, teachers and other Ketchum workers will now have the chance to live where they work,” said Mayor Neil Bradshaw.
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Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories is building a new circuit-board plant southwest of Moscow.
The Pullman, Washington, company will fabricate the printed circuit boards — which are used in its products to protect, monitor, control and automate electric-power systems — at the 140,000-square-foot building on U.S. Highway 95, according to a company news release reported by The Spokesman-Review in Spokane.
SEL plans to break ground on the plant next spring and complete it by by mid-2022.
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Notable
The median rent for a two-bedroom Boise apartment has climbed 9.1% since the pandemic began in March, to $1,015 per month, says Apartment List, a national listing service. That’s the highest rate of increase among midsize cities
The one-bedroom median is $856.
Boise rents have climbed 10.5 percent in the past year, the company said, compared with 2.3% a year earlier. But rents decreased 0.7% in November.
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The Boise City Council voted Tuesday to update the city’s electrical code to include a provision that residential garages built as a part of new home construction include a dedicated branch circuit that could be used to charge an electric vehicle.
“As we create a clean city for everyone, the shift in providing an option to include an electric circuit capable of charging an electric car has the potential to make a significant impact by removing a barrier to owning a green vehicle in Boise,” Mayor Lauren McLean said in a news release Wednesday. “As more and more residents choose electric vehicles, our community will benefit from a significant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. We set an ambitious goal of 100% clean electricity for our community; this is another step towards that goal.”
The new code goes into effect Jan. 1.
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Despite anxiety and challenges associated with COVID-19, shoppers in the Pacific Northwest want to support their local small businesses, according to a Washington State University study reported by the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
The university released its fourth annual holiday retail study that surveyed more than 1,700 people in Washington, Oregon and Idaho about their attitudes toward shopping this holiday season.
Seventy-one percent of those surveyed said shopping in-person is worth it to help local businesses stay open during the pandemic.
“They feel really strongly about supporting small businesses during this time,” said Eric Hollenbeck, spokesman for the WSU Carson College of Business.
Half of all respondents said they are shopping less than they did before COVID-19, and 77% said they feel safe shopping in-person only if the store is enforcing mask use. More than half expressed anxiety, loneliness or overall lack of enthusiasm about the holidays this year.
Still, 68 percent said holiday shopping will help provide them with a sense of normalcy. More than half of those surveyed indicated that if they receive another stimulus check, they would use it to buy holiday gifts for their family and friends.
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This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
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