8-story downtown apartment building, with affordable housing? What’s coming near you
The latest proposed developments, other construction projects and new businesses around Idaho’s Treasure Valley:
Boise
Picture an eight-story apartment building across State Street from the Downtown Boise YMCA. Imagine big windows, green vegetation on the exterior walls, a coffee shop or pizza restaurant on the ground floor with awnings over the sidewalk.
It would not be just one more building with the luxury apartments and condos that have sprouted downtown the past several years. This 225-unit building or buildings would have affordable housing. At least some, anyway.
That’s the vision Boise urban-renewal officials have formed for the block bordered by State, Jefferson, 10th and 11th streets. Now they’re hoping to find a developer who will make the vision come alive.
The board of the city’s urban renewal agency, the Capital City Development Corp., voted Monday, May 10, to request proposals from developers to build the building or buildings up to eight stories tall.
“It’ll be much more difficult than the one we just did on Idaho Street,” said the board chair, Dana Zuckerman, a developer and urban planner. She was referring to a smaller affordable-housing project approved earlier this year to be built at 1715 S. Idaho St., in a residential block. That project will be a mix of market-rent and affordable, below-market apartments.
Former Mayor David Bieter, a board member, said he is skeptical that the new project will include affordable housing, because the financial incentives the city government can offer are too few to make it attractive to developers.
The agency’s experiences downtown in recent years have proved “that getting housing is hard enough,” Bieter said. “To get affordable housing is sometimes impossible.”
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Brad’s Bargain Barn obtained a permit to open a used car lot at 5588 W. Fairview Ave.
The site had been home to Skippers Seafood & Chowder House since 1977.
The restaurant closed last year after the owner was unable to find a buyer. Brad Larsen, owner of Brad’s Bargain Barn, said in a letter to the city of Boise he plans to use the building for an office.
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Vine Terrace Apartments, 1211 N. Vine St., seeks a permit to remove and replace the roof on four buildings.
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Lazrus Golf LLC, a Boise direct-to-consumer golf-club dealer, leased 2,070 square feet of industrial space at 1834 Airport Way, TOK Commercial reports.
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Meridian
Keto Heating and Cooling applied to build a 2,800 square foot warehouse office building at 1680 Franklin.
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Electrical Consultants, Inc. applied to construct new private offices at 2036 Eagle Road.
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Super Chix, a chicken-sandwich restaurant chain, leased 3,000 square feet of retail space in Orchard Park at North Linder Road and West Chinden Boulevard, TOK Commercial reports.
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Juniper & Blue LLC, a women’s clothing boutique, leased 1,210 square feet of retail space in the Eagle Island Marketplace at 1400 W. Chinden Blvd., Suite 106, Colliers International Idaho reports.
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Eagle
Investment Visions seeks design review for a 6,929 square foot, two-story mixed-use building on the west side of East Second Street. The building would have two residential units and two office spaces.
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Dwell Home Co. LLC, a home-decor store, leased 1,456 square feet of retail space in Eagle Clocktower, 1580 E. State St., TOK Commercial reports. The operators plans to open the store in June.
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Nampa
Southern Ridge Properties sought approval from the Nampa Planning and Zoning Commission to build 47 single-family homes and two common lots on Loctus Lane.
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Center Pointe Properties and Blake Wolf/Wolf Building Co. seek approval from Nampa Planning and Zoning for 57 apartments in seven buildings at 4404 and 4416 Amity Ave.
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Sawtooth Land Acquisition seeks approval for a residential subdivision to be platted later on East Locust Lane. The subdivision would include 90 houses and three common areas.
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CPR Cell Repair, a phone-repair store chain, leased 1,240 square feet of retail space in Midtowne Spectrum Shops, 2101 N. Cassia St., TOK Commercial reports.
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Notable
Suez water rates are going up.
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has approved a rate adjustment for Suez’s 98,000 residential and commercial customers in Idaho. Suez serves most of Boise, portions of Eagle and small corners of Meridian.
Following a review of $115 million in water infrastructure investments, the Commission set the first new rates for Suez customers in five years, effective May 1.
The company said the average residential customer bill will increase by $1.08 per month in the first year and an additional $1.52 per month in the second year. The average commercial customer will see an increase of $3.84 per month in the first year and an additional $5.40 per month in the second year.
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