A homeless shelter. A new YMCA. Apartments at Boise’s Spectrum. What’s coming near you
The latest proposed developments, housing and other construction projects, and new businesses around Idaho’s Treasure Valley:
Boise
Interfaith Sanctuary is preparing to begin its controversial $5 million renovation and expansion of the former Salvation Army thrift store at 4306 W. State St. into a homeless shelter.
The shelter, opposed by numerous neighbors, would replace Interfaith’s smaller downtown shelter at 1620 W. River St.
A new filing with the city of Boise, by shelter architect Andrew Erstad, offers details of the plans, including:
- “The interior ... will be renovated to provide housing and day-use rooms for homeless families, adult men, adult women, and medically fragile individuals.
- “Operational spaces, such as administrative offices, caseworker offices, recovery program classrooms, community rooms, computer rooms, laundry facilities and guest intake areas will be located throughout the main building, separated per population.
- “A new commercial kitchen/teaching facility and separate dining rooms will also be added.
- “Individual private rooms will be located in the smaller building, previously used as the Salvation Army food pantry.”
- “The exterior portion of the remodel includes new roofing on the smaller building, painting of existing materials, addition of new wood looking materials to the State Street side, art boxes and additional windows around the perimeter.
- “The current parking area south of the buildings will be improved and upgraded to meet current city landscape design guidelines for parking areas and provide secure, separate entry points of building access for adult and family populations.
- “The existing site improvements north of both buildings will be upgraded and re-landscaped to provide separate outdoor recreation areas for both adults and families, including park-like areas, outdoor seating, bike parking, play structures and overhead protected areas.”
- “Each guest will have a long-term area to stay, as they are waiting for permanent housing. The day rooms are always for their use, as are the kitchen/dining areas and outside spaces. Guests are not required to leave during the day. Most guests have employment elsewhere and treat this just as they would a home.
- “There are 2 smaller ‘transient’ type stay areas — one for adult men, one for adult women. This is for the guests who are new to the shelter and still being implemented into the more permanent living areas of the facility. Guests will be pre-arranged to stay at the facility whether they are in the transient or long-term areas.”
An architect’s rendering of Interfaith Sanctuary planned homeless shelter at 4306 W. State St. Erstad Architects
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The Treasure Valley Family YMCA says it has raised $16 million toward its $60 million goal for building a new YMCA in downtown Boise.
Contributions from Norco, the J.R. Simplot Co., Blue Cross of Idaho, Idaho Power, Boise Cascade and Together Treasure Valley have helped, the YMCA said in a news release.
The new Y would have amenities including an indoor track and a community kitchen.
The building is being incorporated into a plan to redevelop adjacent properties with large apartment buildings as sought by the Capital City Development Corp., Boise’s urban renewal agency.
“The Y continues to collaborate with architectural and development partners to map out a Downtown Boise Y that will meet the needs of a growing and changing community,” the release said.
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Synde Walden of Erstad Architects requested a list of neighbors to contact for a meeting about Spectrum Housing, a multifamily development of 124 units at 1700 S. Entertainment Ave. and 7802 W. Spectrum St.
The addresses are the sites of a former Johnny Carino’s restaurant and of an El Tenampa restaurant in the Boise Spectrum Center.
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Jordan Tampien of Franklin Spokane LLC applied for design review of 48 apartments proposed at 5500 W. Franklin Road, site of the now-closed Crescent Public House restaurant, formerly the Crescent “No Lawyers” Bar & Grill.
The proposal, named the Franklin Development, would add two three-story apartment buildings to the site, each with 24 apartments. They would be behind the restaurant and set back from Franklin Road, according to the application.
The Crescent Public House, which closed in May after operating for just five months, would undergo renovation. Crescent “No Lawyers” closed and was sold in early 2021.
A conditional use permit was requested in June 2021.
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Erin Upham of Axis Design Group in Portland has filed a request for a permit for the design review of a proposed 21,320-square-foot Porsche dealership at 7767 W. Gratz Drive.
The auto dealershiop would be west of Cole Road and a few blocks south of the Boise Towne Square mall.
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Kuna
Meta, the technology company that runs Facebook and Instagram, has paused the construction of its data center in Kuna, multiple news outlets reported, because of a redesign in the center’s layout.
Meta spokesperson Stacey Yip told the Idaho Press that the redesign would make it so the company could add artificial intelligence capabilities to the center.
Meta planned to build a 960,000-square-foot data center that would eventually employ about 1,200 employees.
In an email, Kuna Mayor Joe Stear told the Idaho Statesman that the city is not concerned with the delay in construction.
“They are still moving forward and are updating plans to facilitate a new design that fits their needs for the most up-to-date operations,” Stear said.
A Meta spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Statesman request for additional information.
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Flynn Restaurant Group LLC, a San Francisco company that says it is the largest franchisee of Arby’s restaurants, is opening its newest restaurant at 1549 E. Profile Lane.
Flynn says it owns 11 Arby’s restaurants in Idaho.
A grand opening is scheduled on Tuesday, Jan. 3, Flynn said in a news release.
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Ada and Canyon counties
Two office buildings are among the largest in the Treasure Valley expected to be finished in 2023, a commercial real estate agency says.
TOK Commercial said the two are:
- The 150,000-square-foot Power Engineers building at Eagle View Landing, BVA Development’s office, retail and residential complex going up on the south side of Interstate 84 and just east of Eagle Road in Meridian.
- St. Luke’s Health System’s 230,000 square-foot ambulatory care center at 27th Street and Fairview Avenue in Boise.
Builders delivered 70% less office space in the Treasure Valley in 2022 than in 2021, TOK said in its latest market report. The agency said developers have delayed projects as construction costs in 2022 increased at the fastest rate in a decade.
But 2022 was a boom year for industrial development, with 2.4 million square feet of new industrial-building space, more than twice 2021’s total. Development included:
- 464,500 square feet in Phase 1 of Bow River Capital’s Fuller84 industrial park at East Franklin and Star roads in Nampa.
- 305,300 square feet at AT Industrial’s North Ranch Logistics in the Sky Ranch Business Park in Caldwell.
In 2023, big industrial projects expected to be finished include:
- More than 900,000 square feet at the Red River Logistics Center at 951 E. Gowen Road, west of the Boise Factory Outlets.
- Seven buildings totaling more than 600,000 square feet at Park84 at the northeast corner of Birch Lane and Madison Road in North Nampa.
Retail construction fell 25% in Boise in 2022, TOK said.
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The board of the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho has adopted a new long-range transportation plan for Ada and Canyon counties. The plan, named Communities in Motion 2050, replaces the previous plan adopted in 2018, Compass said.
The plan forecasts a population of nearly 1.1 million people in the two counties to 2050, then plans a transportation system to support that future population, Compass said. The plans outlines transportation projects that are anticipated to be funded and identifies unfunded needs.
“While nearly 30 years away, planning for 2050 today is paramount,” Compass Principal Planner and project manager Liisa Itkonen said in a news release. “It can take years, sometimes even decades, to secure funding and plan and design a project before any dirt is turned or equipment is purchased.”
The region is $193 million short of meeting transportation needs each year to 2050, Itkonen said.
Compass is the regional transportation-planning agency required under federal law for highway projects in the two counties to be eligible for federal funding.
Communities in Motion 2050 is online at https://cim2050.compassidaho.org/. To receive a paper copy, call Compass at 208-855-2558 or email info@compassidaho.org.
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Canyon County
Construction is set to begin in early January to add a mezzanine the Canyon Crossroads Museum at Celebration Park near Melba, the Canyon County Parks, Cultural and Natural Resources Department reported.
The addition “will allow us to provide a better experience for our visitors, which is something we always strive for,” Parks Director Nicki Schwend said in a news release.
Work is expected to be completed by March 2023. The museum will be closed until then, but staff members will remain available for tours daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the release said.
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Nampa
Floreria Lirio Del Valle, a flower shop, leased 1,240 square feet of retail space at 720 16th Ave. S., Colliers reported.
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Notable
Idaho’s median household income rose to $63,377 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017-2021 American Community Survey.
That’s a 14.2% increase from the 2016 median of $55,519 in the 2012-2016 survey, the Idaho Department of Labor said in a news release.
Idaho counties with the highest median household income were Teton ($75,837), Ada ($75,115), Blaine ($71,749), Jefferson ($69,097) and Valley ($67,528), Idaho Labor said.
The Census Bureau has conducted the community surveys since 2008. They replaced the former long-form version of the decennial census to provide more timely data, Idaho Labor said.
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Business reporter Angela Palermo contributed.
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
