Subdivisions. A dog park. A busy highway widening. Animals’ innards. Coming near you
The latest notable construction projects, proposed developments and new businesses around the Treasure Valley and Idaho:
Around Idaho
The Museum of Idaho, in Idaho Falls, reopened its doors Saturday, Jan. 23, with two new exhibits: “Body Worlds: Animal Inside Out,” a traveling exhibit, and a new flagship Idaho exhibit, “Way Out West.”
The museum said its reopening represents the culmination of a six-year effort to expand. The museum will now have roughly double the exhibit space it had before expansion.
The expansion area, including a two-story exhibit hall, opened in September 2019, but existing space was then closed for renovation, which is now complete.
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Canyon County
The Idaho Transportation Department is advancing plans to widen busy Idaho 55, Karcher Road, in western Canyon County.
Much of the 10-mile stretch marked for improvement has been a two-lane farm road since the 1930s. With growth, the highway is increasingly crowded, with travel times growing. The corridor’s vehicle-crash rate is 11 times higher than that for similar Idaho roads, ITD says.
The plan also includes a separated pathway for pedestrians and cyclists in the suburban section from Farmway Road to Middleton Road, high-efficiency intersections, and limited access to preserve safety and promote mobility.
ITD began an online public design review on Jan. 21 that continues through Wednesday, Feb. 10. The agency asks people to visit ITDprojects.org/Idaho55study to view materials and to comment.
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Meridian
Adler Industrial LLC, of Boise, has broken ground on three buildings in what eventually be an eight-building industrial complex called the AI Meridian Business Center.
Two of the buildings will have 30,000 square feet each, the third 90,000 square feet. The center covers several blocks and fronts the north side of Franklin Road at the northwest corner of Cloverdale Road.
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Motorcycle buyers will see a new look soon at High Desert Harley Davidson dealership at 2310 Cinema Drive. Petra Inc. will renovate the building’s facade and sign, according to city filings.
BuildZoom reported the permit application for the $2.5 million project.
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Scentsy seeks to build a 211,500-square-foot warehouse with 32,000 square feet of office space at 2499 E. Pine Ave.
The company is asking Meridian to allow light industrial use on an 11.75-acre parcel that is part of the Pinebridge development agreement. Renderings provided by the company show it would be the third of four large buildings planned for the property.
The Meridian City Council is scheduled to hold a hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23.
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Kiddie Academy is seeking a conditional permit to build a new day care center at The Shops at Victory.
The building would be 8,436 square feet, according to city filings, and one story tall. It would be the first Kiddie Academy in Idaho, according to the company’s website. Vijay Ilavarasan would be the franchisee.
The company would provide care for up to 182 children and have classrooms for different age groups, a bathroom for each classroom and a warming kitchen for snacks and meals. The project would include a large yard divided into three distinct play areas for children.
The Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hold a hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 4.
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Boise
Casanova Pizzeria requested a permit to build a restaurant as the first-time tenant in a commercial space at the Adare Manor apartments, 2431 W. Fairview Ave.
The work will include equipping the kitchen, adding non-load-bearing walls, doors, finishes, restrooms and completing electrical and plumbing work.
Casanova operated on Vista Avenue for a decade before closing in 2015 after losing its lease.
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St. John’s Food Bank is seeking an occupancy permit for a food bank to operate in the former St. John’s Cathedral office in the lower level at 775 N. 8th St.
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Eagle
Hall Capital, an LLC registered to Gerald Gregory Hall of Eagle, seeks to build a 53-home subdivision at 6001 W. Beacon Light Road.
The Brookway North subdivision would be on 28 acres. Eagle’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the project.
The Eagle City Council has scheduled a hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, at Eagle City Hall. Testimony will be taken remotely via WebEx. Instructions on how to participate are available at cityofeagle.org/1698/Virtual-Meetings.
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A new road into downtown Eagle is now open, paving the way for a development with hundreds of apartments, condos and townhouses, plus stores and a park, BoiseDev reports.
The Palmetto Drive Extension connects State Highway 44 with East Plaza Drive. The controversial development, known as Molinari Park, would be built by Eagle 26 LLC, headed by Boise resident Greg McVay.
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Star
Stuart and Raeleen Welton seek a preliminary plat and a private street for 10 houses as part of the Welton Estates subdivision.
The subdivision would be on 10 acres at 9500 W. Broken Arrow Lane.
The Star City Council has scheduled a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, at Star City Hall, 10769 W. State St.
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Nampa
The Nampa Parks and Recreation Department has begun planning and design on a new dog park on Smith Avenue between Midway and Middleton roads in west Nampa.
Like the existing Amity Dog Park on Second Street South, the new park would have an open area for all dogs and an enclosed area for small dogs. It would have grass and trees, a shelter area, restrooms and benches.
“The new dog park will have a variety of walking paths that will allow our community the opportunity to safely exercise and play while allowing their dog to run off leash,” said Darrin Johnson, Parks and Recreation director, in a news release.
A park plan is available for review, and residents are asked to complete a short survey by Feb. 8. Construction is expected to begin in 2021, with the opening to come in summer 2022 or spring 2023.
Caldwell
Happy Teriyaki LLC leased 1,445 square feet of retail space in Trolley Square, 905-921 Arthur St., reports TOK Commercial.
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Notable
Need an intern for your business? Boise State’s College of Business and Economics says a donation will permit the college to extend through 2021 a program launched last fall to provide Idaho small businesses and nonprofit organizations with student interns at no cost.
Organizations that took part in Bronco Corps last year include the Gardner Co., Boise Bicycle Project, American Red Cross, Girl Scouts of Silver Sage, Girls on the Run and Boise Cakery. Based on an end-of-year survey, 67 percent of participants will offer additional opportunities to interns, the college said.
Forty-eight internships will be funded over the next three semesters, 16 per semester. The students will earn $12.50 per hour.
“Boise State has a large population of non-traditional students who need income as well as experience,” said Laura Chiuppi, director of the college’s career services. “Paid internships offer students the opportunity to prepare for the future without having to sacrifice financial security.”
Employers can work with Chiuppi to create job descriptions for positions and to recruit students. Email cobecareers@boisestate.edu to participate or recommend a participant.
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Would you ride a commuter rail train? The regional transportation-planning agency wants to know: If a high-capacity transit service, such as bus rapid transit, light rail or commuter rail, was built between Caldwell and Boise, would you use it?
The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho, COMPASS, wants residents of Ada and Canyon counties to take an online survey to help guide the next long-range transportation plan, Communities in Motion 2050.
“The first two surveys we conducted, in 2019 and 2020, both told us that there is public interest in a high-capacity transit system between Caldwell and Boise,” said Associate Planner Rachel Haukkala in a news release. “We now want to explore that more, so that we can better understand how high-capacity transit could serve people’s needs.
Log on to www.compassidaho.org to watch a prerecorded presentation and complete the survey by Saturday, Feb. 27. A live hourlong online presentation will be offered twice, at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2, and at noon Thursday, Feb. 4, with planners taking questions from the public.
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Boise employer aims to sell stock to public: Vacasa, the Portland-based vacation-rental service with a significant Idaho presence, says it still has its sights set on an initial public offering of stock.
“An IPO is definitely part of a possible future for us,” CEO Matt Roberts, who succeeded Eric Breon 11 months ago, told Skift, a travel-industry site. Breon founded Vacasa in Portland in 2009 and operated it from Boise for several years when he lived here.
As of February 2020, Vacasa said it had about 220 employees in its downtown Boise office, about 40 of whom were in technology. It also had about 100 people in field offices throughout the state.
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