Neighbors fight apartments. Developer’s high rise could rise even higher. Coming near you
The latest proposed developments, housing and other construction projects, and new businesses around Idaho’s Treasure Valley:
Boise
The previously proposed 19-story high-rise in downtown Boise could become even taller. A new proposal calls for the building to be 23 stories.
Ryan Staude, a senior project manager for Eppstein Uhen Architects in Wisconsin, wrote in a letter to the city that the Ovation high-rise would be the “premier residential building” in Boise.
It’s planned for 521 W. Front St., on the east side of 6th Street between Front Street and Broad.
Wisconsin-based Hovde Properties is developing the high-rise. Boise’s Design Review Committee approved its design in December 2021. The modification calls for the four additional stories, one for parking and three floors in the residential portion that the architects call a tower.
The additions mean there would be six levels of parking instead of five and 17 residential floors instead of 14. The updated version has 258 apartment units, 267 parking spots and 258 bicycle parking spaces instead of 209 of each.
The four extra stories push the height to 246 feet from 208 feet. It would still be the third-tallest building in Boise behind Eighth & Main and the U.S. Bank Plaza, according to Emporis, which tracks building heights worldwide.
“We feel the modifications create a more attractive, aesthetically pleasing project for the city of Boise while the increased density is a more appropriate use of the prime location,” Staude wrote. “We therefore are asking for these improvements to be approved and welcome feedback on our more detailed designs.”
The project had previously been delayed twice and was adjusted after a disagreement between city of Boise planners and Ada County Highway District about parking garage access points.
The project was first proposed in June 2021 with construction set to begin that fall and be completed by summer 2023. By December, the plan shifted to begin construction by June 2022 and completed by spring 2024. Three months after that targeted start date, construction still hasn’t begun, and plans are being tweaked.
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Neighbors are appealing the approval of 35 apartments in two buildings at 2408 S. Broadway Ave. in Southeast Boise.
Concerns have been raised about plans to provide 37 parking spaces. Applicant Ben Semple requested a parking reduction because the site is close to bus stops. Instead of needing to build 41 parking spots, Boise’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the parking reduction and allowed 37 spots.
Semple, a landscape architect for Rodney Evans and Partners, submitted plans for the apartments in February. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved them in June. The appeal was scheduled to go before the City Council at its meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20.
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Ketchum’s Alpine Investment Group is proposing to build 89 storage units, a clubhouse and four mixed-use buildings on 7.2 acres of land at 2007 S. Saturn Way in West Boise.
The site is near the Regal Edwards movie theater, west of Cole Road and south of Overland Road.
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The Blue Valley Tenant Association’s appeal of seven industrial buildings proposed in Southeast Boise was denied Monday, Sept. 12, by the Planning and Zoning Commission after more than two hours of discussion.
The industrial park was proposed at 8675 S. Warehouse Way and 2392 E. WinCo Court, near the Boise Factory Outlets and Micron Technology Inc. campus. The land is zoned for heavy industrial use.
The industrial buildings, which would total 1.2 million square feet, were previously approved by the Design Review Committee. They would be directly south of the Blue Valley mobile home park.
The appeal centered on incompatibility between the mobile home park and adjacent industrial use.
Though the commission unanimously denied the appeal, it added conditions to mitigate problems between the two properties.
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Boise needs more money to commission a memorial for fallen pilots along the Boise River in Julia Davis Park.
In 2021, the city budgeted $75,000 to build a Window to the River Memorial for Fallen Pilots to honor pilots who have died in the line of duty, according to a city memorandum. An additional $81,000 is needed to complete the project.
“The bids for the selected design came in significantly higher than the project’s current budget,” said the memo, which appeared in a City Council work session packet.
The $156,000 budget, all of which has come from the city’s Parks and Recreation budget, was approved by the council on Tuesday.
Eagle
Money Metals Exchange, an Eagle gold and silver distributor, plans to build a new metal depository and fulfillment center.
Money Metals Exchange plans to break ground next month on a $21 million, 40,000-square-foot center on a a 3.2-acre lot adjacent to city and county emergency services, according to a news release.
The company started in an office in the old Eagle Hotel in 2010. It has added new employees over the years and outgrown its space. It now has nearly 100 employees.
“The family-owned Gem State business has added several employee benefits in recent years while stepping up wage levels dramatically in response to the runaway inflation situation fueled by debt-funded government spending and Federal Reserve monetary debasement,” the release said.
The release said the center “will be the largest private depository of its kind outside of financial centers located in the Northeast corridor of the United States.”
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Meridian
Slim Chickens, a restaurant chain serving chicken tenders, wings and sandwiches, applied for a permit to build a 3,700-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru at 3369 W. Chinden Blvd.
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Northpoint Recovery, a substance abuse treatment center, opened at 2335 E. State Ave., according to the Meridian Chamber of Commerce.
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Brighton Development Inc. submitted a final plat application for Pollard Subdivision No. 1 at 2929 W. Navigator Drive.
The phase would consist of 11 commercial lots and one common lot on about 51.6 acres.
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An architecture firm in Boise plans to develop a Meridian property into four small office buildings.
12.15 Design is requesting to rezone 1.8 acres at 3169 W. Belltower Drive, which is zoned as residential, according to an application filed with the city.
A hearing for the request is scheduled at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, in the City Council chambers at Meridian City Hall.
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Dave Evans Construction seeks to build a one-story 3,145-square-foot multitenant medical/property management building at 3224 N. Meridian Road, according to an application with the city.
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Around Idaho
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With Blaine County housing too costly for ordinary wage earners, Ketchum, Sun Valley and Hailey are turning to a business that specializes in finding housing for local workers that is at least relatively affordable in high-priced resort towns.
Ketchum has contracted with Landing Locals, of Truckee, California, to market and administer a one-year pilot program with more than $400,000 to spend on grants to homeowners who agree to lease homes to qualified tenants, a news release said.
“It represents another arrow in our housing quiver and has the potential to make an immediate impact on our housing crisis,” Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw said in the release.
A qualified tenant household must not average more than $77,552 per year in income, or about $39 an hour, the release said. That’s 120% of the area median income for Blaine County.
Qualified tenants include caretakers, children, retirees, people who are seeking employment, or people who are disabled and cannot work. A tenant must work at least 20 hours per week in Blaine County.
Properties must be in one of the three cities and must not already have been rented long-term in the past 12 months, the release said. Properties may not be leased for more than $3,500 per month.
The grants will award $2,000 per qualified tenant for five-month seasonal leases and $4,500 per qualified tenant for long-term (one year or longer) leases. The maximum grant is $18,000.
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Notable
Pilots in the Air National Guard’s 190th Fighter Squadron, 124th Fighter Wing, based at Boise’s Gowen Field, just took home their fourth overall win in the global A-10 missile, bombing, and tactical gunnery competition known as Hawgsmoke.
According to a news release from organizers of the event:
Hawgsmoke is a biennial event at the Saylor Creek Range south of Mountain Home designed to test the combat capabilities of the A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog” and its pilots.
This September, more than 35 A-10s and 150 pilots, maintainers, and weapons teams from 15 active-duty Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units competed from as far as Osan Air Base in South Korea.
“Not only is this an opportunity to see our fellow pilots and honor those we’ve lost, but it’s also a chance for us to educate the community about the Air National Guard, the A-10, and the importance of supporting a follow-on mission here once the A-10 is eventually retired,” said Lt. Col. Jason Cobb, a Hawgsmoke organizer and a pilot in the 190th Fighter Squadron.
Since 1946, Gowen Field has been home to nine types of fighter aircraft. The A-10 has been the flying mission of the Idaho Air National Guard in Boise since 1996. Although the A-10 is not scheduled for retirement, officials expect it will be, after which Air National Guard leaders intend to seek a replacement for the flying mission in Idaho.
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Sales of land for commercial development have slowed considerably in the Treasure Valley this year, reported TOK Commercial, the real estate agency.
The number of land sales fell almost by half through July compared with the same seven months of 2021, the agency said in its latest quarterly land report.
Land prices keep going up. The median value through July for industrial land rose 30% and for office and retail 36% from the same period a year ago. Office and retail land now sells for a median $14 per square foot. That’s equivalent to $610,000 per acre.
But commercial developments are plowing ahead, with permits up 36% from this time last year, TOK said.
Industrial projects account for two-thirds of those in Canyon County and nearly half in Ada County, accounting for a combined $342 million on construction value.
Apartment construction is rising too, with 50% more multifamily permits taken out in Canyon County through July than in all of 2021, TOK said.
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Latonia Haney Keith replaced Dana Zuckerman, whose term expired, as board chair of the Capital City Development Corp., Boise’s urban renewal agency.
Haney Keith is the vice president of high-impact practices at the College of Idaho.
“As we go forward with all that we have before us in these different districts, having someone that’s served in the vice chair position, while traditional to move up, isn’t always necessary,” said Mayor Lauren McLean, a board member. “But I think in this case [it] is important, given [Haney Keith’s] institutional knowledge.”
John Stevens succeeded Haney Keith as the board’s vice chair. Stevens is an investment brokerage partner with TOK Commercial Real Estate.
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Garden City has disbanded its Design Review Committee and replaced the committee’s review process with an internal staff or consultant review.
The Design Review Committee was made up of local volunteers, and the City Council instead decided to have consultants review new construction and alterations to ensure those proposals comply with city code and design standards.
Mayor John Evans previously told the Statesman that it had been difficult to find volunteers to fulfill the committee’s duties, and the review process could be frustrating for applicants. Under the new model, a consultant will review projects and report to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
“It’ll speed up the process for the developer, it’ll lighten our staff load, and still give the public an opportunity to comment,” Evans said.
The City Council passed an ordinance approving the change on Monday, Sept. 12.
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