A new factory. Coming near you. Plus: What they’re saying about Boise’s housing market
The latest proposed developments, housing and other construction projects, and new businesses around Idaho’s Treasure Valley:
Boise
Boise residents will have a chance soon to weigh in on a developer’s proposal to build 18 apartments on State Street at North Lake Harbor Lane in the Veterans Park neighborhood.
RDL Concepts Inc. of Nampa, whose president is Robert D. Lightfeldt, owns the property at at 5033 W. State St. where the Lofts at Lake Harbor is planned. LIghtfeldt’s building would have one- and two-bedroom units.
The city Planning & Zoning Commission plans a public hearing at its meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7, at City Hall, 150 N. Capitol Blvd.
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An Eagle developer’s proposal to build 48 apartments north of the Boise Towne Square mall is about to go before a city commission.
Eden Investments Inc., whose president is Eric G. Murrell Jr., of Eagle, plans the Emerald Apartments at 7670 W. Emerald St., west of North Cole Road.
The Boise Planning & Zoning Commission scheduled a public hearing for its meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7, at City Hall, 150 N. Capitol Blvd.
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The Ada County Highway District is considering $2 million in new sidewalk and bike-lane improvements in Southeast Boise’s Columbia Village development and on streets to the north.
The district received 654 comments, many of which voiced safety concerns about crossing Lake Forest Drive, the need for bicycle an pedestrian improvements at Amity and Holcomb roads, and support for other improvements. Details are available at https://bit.ly/3sg9nzb
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The Azek Co., which makes outdoor-living and building products, is now producing TimberTech-brand products at its new Boise factory in the former Shopko distribution center at 1001 E. Gowen Road, south of the Boise Airport.
CEO Jesse Singh took part in a ceremony Oct. 12 to mark completion of the Chicago company’s refurbishment of the 350,000-square-foot building and the start of production.
Azek is making deck boards of composite wood and high-density polyethylene, or HDPE; and of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC.
To qualify for a state tax incentive, Azek agreed in 2021 to hire at least 146 people making an average yearly wage of $50,479, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
Spectrum America Supply Chain Solutions, which operated the distribution center for Shopko, closed the building in spring 2019. The shutdown came after Shopko declared bankruptcy and closed its two Boise stores and one in Nampa.
Solitco, a manufacturer of solar components, later leased the building but never moved in.
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The Fred Astaire Dance Studio has opened at 1511 W. Main St. in the Linen District.
The studio is part of a chain of franchises across the U.S. and in several foreign countries. Monica Gere owns the Boise studio franchise.
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Vape Zone LLC leased 1,170 square feet of retail space in Ustick Promenade, 10689-10697 W. Ustick Road, TOK Commercial reported.
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Meridian
Brighton Development Inc., a commercial and residential development company, applied for a final plat for 56 houses on nearly 12 acres at the corner of Locust Grove and East Lake Hazel roads.
A public hearing is scheduled at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, in the City Council chambers at Meridian City Hall.
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Les Schwab plans to build a two-story tire store at 3094 W. McMillan Road, according to a permit filed with the city.
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The Peak at Sawtooth Village applied for a permit to construct a 6,056-square-foot multitenant commercial building with an upper-level office suite at 4752 N. Linder Road.
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Academy of Nails Training School leased 1,906 square feet of space at 1540 E. Fairview Ave., Cushman & Wakefield reported.
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Kuna
Kuna is accepting bids to build a police station next to City Hall at 751 W. 4th St. downtown
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On Tuesday, Oct. 18, the Kuna City Council began accepting plans for the station, which would share the City Hall parking lot.
The city has received a design from ADP Architects for a 960-square-foot station. The station could be completed by next spring.
Star
Michael Edgar, a real estate agent in Meridian, has received City Council approval to build 13 single-family houses on four acres at 9666 W. Floating Feather Road.
The council approved the proposal by Floating Feather T & ME LLC, where Edgar is the registered agent, on Tuesday, Oct. 18.
The Glendora Subdivision would be north of Floating Feather, west of North Pollard Lane and east of the recently approved Langtree Bungalow Subdivision, according to the application narrative.
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Nampa
Starbucks leased 2,225 square feet of retail space at Northside Boulevard and 6th Street North, Cushman & Wakefield reported.
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Caldwell
Airstream Adventures’ dealerships, including one at 1705 Industrial Way in Caldwell, have been purchased Lithia & Driveway, which said it is the largest new automotive retailer in the U.S.
The move represents the Medford, Oregon,-based Lithia’s entrance into the North American luxury recreation vehicle market, the company said in a news release.
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Around Idaho
Brigham Young University–Idaho planned to dedicate three buildings on its Rexburg campus on Thursday, Oct. 27.
One of the buildings opened in 2020, another in spring 2021, and the third in 1974 but which recently was remodeled, BYU-Idaho said in a news release.
The first is the University Village Community Center, the second the Visual Arts Studio, and the third the Engineering and Technology Center.
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Notable
Financial site SmartAsset said Boise’s housing market is cooling off faster than any other Top 100 market in the nation, based on August data.
“Boise has the sixth-lowest ratio of number of sold houses to new listings (0.49), meaning that almost twice as many houses are being listed relative to ones that are sold,” SmartAsset said in a report Oct. 4. “The median days a house sits on the market is 20, and this figure is almost 186% higher than one year previously.”
SmartAsset said it based its rankings on eight Zillow price-reduction and decreased-demand metrics for August 2022 compared with August 2021 in the 100 largest metro areas, 92 of which had complete data.
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Another indicator of the downturn in Boise’s housing market is a decline in the typical price per square foot of new houses.
Redfin, the real estate agency, said in a new report that the median price per square foot has fallen 1.2% in the past year to $294.30.
That compares with $314.06 in Portland, $361.91 in Denver and $531.29 in Seattle.
Boise is one of only nine U.S. markets where the price fell.
The national median rose 3.5% in urban neighborhoods to $205, and 9.5% in suburban neighborhoods to $206, in the four weeks ending Sept. 25, Redfin said.
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Boise-area homebuilders may be slowing their plans to start new developments, but the latest Idaho unemployment report shows no sign of job losses.
In fact, the report on Oct. 21 said construction employment statewide actually increased in September by 0.8% from August. Overall job growth in Boise persisted, up 0.3% from August, the Idaho Department of Labor said.
Idaho’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate edged up to 2.8% from 2.7% in August. A year earlier, it was 3.4%.
The national unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, from 3.7% in August.
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Apartment rents in the Boise area have risen faster than the national average but remain reasonable on average in relation to incomes, a national economist told participants in a Boise conference on commercial real estate.
Boise’s average asking rent is $1,383 per unit, the 81st highest of 276 metro areas, said Thomas LaSalvia, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics, at an annual conference Oct. 19 sponsored by Colliers. The local median income is about $77,000 per year, meaning rent accounts for 22% of income, he said.
But LaSalvia said most apartment construction today is what developers and investors deem Class A — the most expensive, with the most amenities. “You can make a lot more rent from that,” he said.
He said high land costs are a key reason.
Developers need support from local governments to make less-expensive units available for affordable housing, he said: “What I think has to happen from the housing perspective is more public-private partnerships.”
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The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has scheduled three public hearings about Idaho Power’s net-metering study, which was requested by the PUC and released in June.
The study proposes changes to the compensation for excess energy produced by customers with on-site generation, which most commonly means rooftop solar. According to the study, customers with on-site generation receive a credit on their bill when they produce more energy than they need.
Idaho Power valued excess power from on-site generation, like rooftop solar, at 2.8 cents to 4 cents per kilowatt hour. Retail rates for homeowners are typically between 8 cents to 10 cents per kilowatt hour, depending on how much energy is used. Idaho Power proposes to reduce its credit to the lower rate from today’s retail rate.
The hearings are from 6 to 9 p.m. They are planned:
- Thursday, Oct. 27, at the Red Lion Hotel in Pocatello, 1555 Pocatello Creek Road.
- Wednesday, Nov. 2, in the auditorium at the Vera C. O’Leary Middle School in Twin Falls, 2350 Elizabeth Boulevard.
- Thursday, Nov. 3, at the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, 11331 W. Chinden Boulevard, Building 8, Suite 201-A.
For more details, read the news release at puc.idaho.gov.
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This story was originally published October 26, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
