2 changes near Anne Frank Memorial. Corey Barton’s new development. Coming near you
The latest proposed developments, housing and other construction projects, and new businesses around Idaho’s Treasure Valley:
Boise
The Wassmuth Center for Human Rights’ building in downtown Boise could soon be torn down to make way for a parking lot and the future planned building at the same site.
The building that’s there now is at 777 S. 8th St. next to the Anne Frank Memorial and Greenbelt.
The Wassmuth Center is planning to build a new education center that was projected in the spring to cost $5.5 million.
A groundbreaking for the new center is planned for Wednesday, Oct. 26. The existing building could soon be torn down following an application to demolish it.
Meanwhile, the center’s staff has moved to a temporary office in the former Foothills School of Arts and Sciences building one block north.
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An artist is painting a mural in a tunnel along the Greenbelt near the Anne Frank Memorial.
The tunnel is below a pedestrian and bike bridge that leads across the river.
Addie Boswell, a public artist from Portland, is painting the mural along with local volunteers.
The project is in cooperation with the Boise Department of Arts and History, according to a tweet from the Parks and Recreation Department.
“The artist’s concept consists of a giant chestnut tree that climbs the wall and arches across the tunnel ceiling in a canopy of abstracted branches and leaves,” the tweet said. “People who have stood up to injustice are woven together and sometimes overlap.”
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Capital City Development Corp., Boise’s urban renewal agency, bought nearly one-fifth of an acre at 600-615 S. 9th St., TOK Commercial reported.
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A trapeze school in Northwest Boise can now sell beer and open a mini-golf course on its property.
Fly! Boise, the trapeze school at 3401 Collister Drive, requested permission from the city in September to open the beer garden and nine-hole mini-golf course. The project required city approval because the trapeze school previously received a special exception permit when it opened in 2016, according to a Planning and Development Services memo.
The new business would be called Boise Brew Putt. It involves the purchase of a small adjacent parcel owned by the Ada County Highway District, according to the memo.
The City Council approved the changes on Sept. 20.
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The construction of Montessori Academy School in Boise’s Barber Station has begun.
The property, at 3110 E. Barber Valley Drive, is owned by Weiser development company Eckhardt Properties.
Plans call for an “excavation of approximately 1,500 cubic yards of earth in the site preparation for a new commercial building,” according to an application. The construction was first reported by BuildZoom.
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Leather designer Robert Comstock has moved his high-end fashion store in downtown Boise to a different location.
Comstock opened the old storefront at 765 W. Idaho St. in January 2018, selling both men’s and women’s fashion items. The store closed in July and reopened down the street at 828 W. Idaho St.
Store management declined to comment on what prompted the move.
Fluff Hardware, a business owned by Solymar Palm that sells handmade accessories, moved into Comstock’s old space at 765 W. Idaho St. That store opened in August.
Fluff also moved its original store on State Street to Hyde Park. The new store at 1605 N. 13th St. opened in September.
Customers can sign up for public events or book a private party with Fluff to design their own metal jewelry, said the store’s manager, Rachel Vassion.
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A new boba tea shop is planned near WinCo in downtown Boise at 110 E. Myrtle St.
WinCo applied for a tenant improvement permit for the 476-square-foot space.
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Little Sprouts of Idaho Childcare Center LLC leased 5,428 square feet of retail space at 8083 W. Fairview Ave., Suite 8083, Colliers reported.
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CB Daycare LLC leased 11,619 square feet of retail space in Belmont Plaza, 10475-10499 W. Fairview Ave., TOK Commercial reported.
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Nampa
Corey Barton, Idaho’s biggest homebuilder, was approved to build 125 single-family homes and 53 town houses on 43 acres on multiple parcels on the east side of Southside Boulevard in Nampa.
The Seven Maples Ranch Subdivision would be located at 3204 and 3303 E. Oklahoma Avenue, 3000 Southside Boulevard and east of Southside Boulevard.
There would be a mix of different size homes with small town houses being built near an existing elementary school, said Jane Suggs, of Gem State Planning, in her proposal on behalf of Barton.
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“There will be significant pathways throughout the site and the pathways and sidewalks will provide exceptional connectivity within the subdivision and to adjacent neighborhoods,” Suggs wrote in the application.
The Nampa City Council approved the application on Monday, Oct. 17.
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Meridian
Lynx Investments LLLP, a private investment firm, applied for a preliminary plat consisting of 114 homes on 17.5 acres at the corner of Linder and West Orchard Park Drive.
The homes would be a mix of single-family detached and attached houses, town houses, and multifamily units, the application said.
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Providence Properties LLC. submitted a final plat for the Prescott Ridge Subdivision to include 71 houses on 14.4 acres near West Chinden Boulevard.
A hearing is scheduled at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, in the City Council chambers at Meridian City Hall.
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Curtis Homes submitted a final plat for its planned Grayson Subdivision, including 15 single-family houses on 3.1 acres at 1710 E Amity Road.
A hearing is scheduled at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, in the City Council chambers at Meridian City Hall.
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The Ada County Highway District said it has completed improvements on Ten Mile Road between Victory and Overland roads, including a new roundabout at Ten Mile and Victory roads.
The roundabout is one lane with dedicated right-hand turn lanes, and it could be “easily expanded to a full multilane roundabout when needed to accommodate future traffic volumes,” according to an ACHD news release.
Ten Mile Road is now two lanes in each direction with a center turn lane, center medians and multi-use pathways on each side of the road.
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Cutthroat Barbershop LLC leased 1,365 square feet of retail space at 1540 E. Fairview Ave., TOK Commercial reported.
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Batteries Plus Meridian, a franchise store owned and operated by Tom Sellin and part of the nationwide battery, light bulb, key fob and phone repair franchise, has opened at 6097 N. Ten Mile Road, the Hartland, Wisconsin, company said in a news release.
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Notable
Only one metro area’s home prices increased more in 10 years than Boise’s, according to a recent report.
The median price of Boise-area homes was $115,400 in 2011 and $468,600 in 2021 — a 306% increase, a percentage second only to Detroit’s, Point2Homes reported. Detroit’s price increased 357%.
On average, Boise homes added $88 in value each day during the decade.
The median price of an Ada County home is even higher now, though it has been falling since the white-hot market began to cool in spring. September’s median, the latest available, was $540,000, according to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service.
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The Ada County Highway District is working with Boise State University to use virtual reality to “help educate the public on how to use roundabouts,” according to the agency’s agenda for a meeting.
ACHD’s staff is working with Boise State’s Games Interactive Media and Mobile program to create a driving simulation. It would cost ACHD $6,005, according to a staff report about the program.
“The simulation will allow participants to ‘drive’ a roundabout in risk free, virtual reality environment,” the report said.
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This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
