Boise area’s first 24-hour urgent-care clinic. Chinden gets wider. Coming near you

The latest proposed developments, other construction projects and new businesses around Idaho’s Treasure Valley:

Meridian

Saltzer Health says it will open the state’s first 24-hour urgent care clinic on Monday, Dec. 14, at the Saltzer Health Medical Campus, 867 S. Vanguard Way, off Ten Mile Road just north of Interstate 84.

The 6,400-square-foot urgent care clinic is located on the first floor of a four-story, 147,000 medical building that will also soon house an imaging center, a surgery center with five operating rooms and a procedure room, an endoscopy suite, physical therapy services and doctors’ clinics.

Saltzer Health operates urgent care clinics in South Meridian, North and South Nampa and Caldwell. In the coming months, two new stand-alone clinics will open at Barber Valley in East Boise and Paramount in North Meridian.

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The Idaho Transportation Department said it would open four lanes of Chinden Boulevard from Locust Grove Road east to Eagle Road to traffic on Friday, Dec. 11, marking a major milestone in its ChindenWest Corridor project.

“The widening of the section of Chinden from two lanes to four began this spring,” ITD said in a news release. “This is the second segment of the ChindenWest project to finish this year. Idaho 16 to Linder Road was completed in September. Linder Road to Locust Grove will wrap up in 2021.

“The new roadway includes four 12-foot travel lanes, two in each direction, and a detached 10-foot pathway to the south for bicyclists and pedestrians.

“The ChindenWest corridor is a heavily commuted section of U.S. 20/26 connecting I-84 and Eagle Road (ID-55). Widening to four lanes is the first of three phases. Phase 2 will widen the highway to six lanes. Phase 3 will construct high-capacity intersections at key locations. No funding has been identified for those future phases at this time.”

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Idaho Fitness Factory, a business registered to Cory Coltrin in Boise, is seeking to open a gym at 4940 N. Elsinore Ave.

The gym will include weight lifting space, a cardio area, a group exercise room and additional supporting facilities, according to city filings.

According to the business’s website, it will be the eighth Idaho Fitness Factory in the Treasure Valley and the third in Meridian.

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Rock and Armor, a physical therapy clinic with locations in Meridian and Boise, applied to build a 19,000-square-foot clinic at 1649 E. Pine Ave.

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Jeffrey Todd Guin has applied to renovate a former sandwich shop into a Duck Donuts franchise, which would sell doughnuts, ice cream, breakfast sandwiches and more, at 2126 N. Eagle Road.

The chain has several locations in the Midwest and East, but it appears the Meridian location would be the first in Idaho.

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Boise

Fairfield Inn & Suites received a permit to build a four-story hotel at 7881 W. Emerald St. The building, which is projected to cost $9.4 million, will have 106 hotel rooms.

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The Boise Police Department opened a new police station in the city’s West End at 2223 W. Fairview Ave.

The downtown area has more calls for service than any other part of the city, BPD said in a news release. Bike patrol officers will move in this week.

“The new Downtown Station will provide officers working downtown quick access to their patrol area rather than commuting each day from City Hall West or on a bike from Willow Lane,” said Police Chief Ryan Lee. “Officers who work downtown everyday are now physically situated to continue providing tailored police services to the downtown area.”

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The city of Boise is preparing to exchange 0.4 acres of property adjacent to North Collister Drive for 3.2 acres of open space property adjacent to Polecat Reserve.

The exchange will allow for improvements to trail access, expand the popular Polecat Reserve and provide a neighborhood access location for pedestrians and bikers closer to the junction of Hill Road and Collister Drive.

The exchange was approved by the City Council on Tuesday, Dec. 8, as a condition for preliminary approval for the Collister Lofts development.

An independent appraisal showed that the city property is worth $50,000 and the property Boise will acquire is worth $345,000.

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Bespoke Bride, a wedding dress shop, is seeking a permit to add an arch and update the painting, flooring and light fixtures, along with an occupation permit, at 814 W. Idaho St.

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Spin Records, a retail store for used vinyl records and CDs, is seeking an occupancy permit at 2222 S. Broadway Ave.

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Goldfish Swim School for children opened its first Idaho franchise on. Dec. 1 at 1001 N. Milwaukee St.

The school is owned by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Andrew and Emily Wyckoff.

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Lively Inc., a San Francisco company that sells health savings accounts, plans to open an office next year somewhere in Boise and hire more than 20 customer-service and operations employees.

For information about Lively jobs, visit https://livelyme.com/careers.

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Eagle

Ben Harris, pastor of Restored Community Church, is requesting design review approval of a new building that would be used as a day care center.

The single-story, 1,800-square-foot building would be on the church’s existing property at 3633 W. Floating Feather.

Eagle’s Design Review Board will weigh in on the project at its meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10.

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Idaho State Liquor is applying design to convert a space for a bank with a drive-up service location to a retail shop at 3172 E. State St., in the Eagle Promenade Shopping Center.

City filings show the applicant does not intent to use the drive-thru as part of the business.

Eagle’s Design Review Board will weigh in on the project at its meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10.

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Around Idaho

The Idaho Division of Veterans Services just opened its second state Veterans Cemetery in Eastern Idaho.

The 40-acre cemetery, located at 2651 Cromwell Lane, Blackfoot, joins the 76.5-acre existing cemetery at 10100 N. Horseshoe Bend Road in the Boise Foothills.

Construction of parts of the cemetery are expected to continue until spring, when a dedication ceremony will be scheduled, the division said in a news release. For more information, call (208) 701-7161 or email blackfootcemetery@veterans.idaho.gov.

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The U.S. Forest Service is using wood products from rural Idaho to build its new Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest Supervisor’s Office in Kamiah, near the Clearwater River north of Grangeville.

Quality Contractors LLC, of Deary, is building the 15,000-square-foot office.

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The city of Coeur d’Alene has acquired almost 5 acres of land adjacent to an ambitious, publicly owned, mixed-use development on a prime spot near downtown and on the banks of the Spokane River, The Spokesman-Review reports.

Now it has to decide what to do with it.

The triangular parcel is part of the former Stimson lumber mill acreage about 3 miles downstream from Lake Coeur d’Alene. Seeing an opportunity to create public access to the waterfront and boost economic development in the area, the city bought what is known as the Atlas Site for $7.85 million in 2018.

The city hopes for market-driven housing and commercial development that would not only pay the city back for purchasing the land, but also fund the cleanup of pollution, the development of public infrastructure, and the preservation of the riverfront at the site.

The first tangible progress occurred earlier this month, when the city opened Atlas Mill Park, which includes a kayak and paddleboard launch, a dog area and a gazebo. The park stretches in a narrow band some 4,000 feet along the river bank.

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Notable

Walmart says it will pay $2.1 million in a fourth round of special pandemic bonuses on Dec.. 24 to its Idaho hourly workers.

Full-time workers will receive $300. Part-time and temporary workers will get $150.

Walmart says it had 8,082 employees in Idaho as of Oct. 31, earning an average wage of $13.38 an hour. The chain has 23 Walmart Supercenters, three Neighborhood Markets and one Sam’s Club in the state.

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Idaho drivers received a present this holiday season, AAA says: The state’s average gas price on Monday, Dec. 7, was 64 cents cheaper than a year ago, the third-largest decrease in the nation.

Idaho’s average price was $2.27, still 11 cents higher than the national average of $2.16. Idaho ranked 12th in the nation for most expensive fuel, down from its usual seventh to ninth, AAA said.

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Black Friday foot traffic among major retailers in Idaho fell 51% this year, says Savings.com, citing location data tracked by X-Mode.

All states’ traffic declined. Idaho had the third-steepest decline, behind New Mexico’s 65% and Washington’s 53%.

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David Staats

Idaho Statesman

208-377-6417

Business and Local Government Editor David Staats joined the Idaho Statesman in 2004.  Support my work with a digital subscription

Hayley Harding

Idaho Statesman

208-377-6481

Hayley covers local government for the Idaho Statesman with a primary focus on Boise and Ada County. Her political reporting won first place in the 2019 Idaho Press Club awards. Previously, she worked for the Salisbury Daily Times, the Hartford Courant, the Denver Post and McClatchy’s D.C. bureau. Hayley graduated from Ohio University with degrees in journalism and political science.If you like seeing stories like this, please consider supporting our work with a digital subscription to the Idaho Statesman.