Hopes rose for apartments, stores to revive a downtown block. Here’s what went wrong
In a single block in downtown Meridian, between Broadway and Idaho Avenues and 2nd and 3rd Street, stands Meridian’s small, single-level community center. Next to it are a small park and its parking lot, and another aging building where the Meridian Library offers technology services to the public.
It’s called the Civic Block. While much of Meridian’s downtown is enjoying a renaissance thanks to redevelopment, the Civic Block block has not been touched.
Mayor Robert Simison and the City Council hoped to breathe new life into it. They sought proposals from developers. In August 2021, they got three. They selected the proposal of a Michigan development company.
The company, River Caddis, said it would build a four-story apartment building with retail shops on the ground floor, a pool deck and a connected parking garage on the bottom floors. The development would incorporate a walkable festival street and public plaza.
It would cost $80 million, according to Meridian Development Corp., the city’s urban renewal agency, which also owns land within the block.
But last month River Caddis, announced that it could not build the project after all, citing high costs. The company said the development would cost at least $30 million more than it had anticipated when it made the proposal.
That left Simison and the Meridian Development Corp. to figure out their next steps.
Developer, city reach “an impasse”
Shortly after River Caddis took on the project, it encountered hurdles.
The company realized that to execute its plan, it would need to relocate the Hunter Lateral, a canal that runs through the middle of the block. The company also faced inflated building costs that set it back on its timeline. The Meridian Development Corp. and City Council granted River Caddis a time extension in April 2023.
That wasn’t enough. In an Oct. 31 letter to the city, John McGraw, president and chief operating officer of River Caddis, said the company tried exploring “creative financing solutions” with the city, but no agreement could be reached.
According to Meridian Development Corp., in late September River Caddis suggested that the city change the funding structure of the project to make it more viable for the developer. The company suggested the city could assist in funding the $30 million financial gap that River Caddis faced with public tax dollars.
“From MDC’s perspective, this did not seem a prudent use of taxpayer dollars,” said Ashley Squyres, administrator of the Meridian Development Corp., by email. The corporation is the city’s urban renewal agency.
McGraw wrote that River Caddis could not go on.
“We wish to express our deep disappointment that the opportunity to collaborate and find a mutually beneficial solution was not seized upon,” McGraw said. “Despite our best efforts and the substantial resources invested, we find ourselves at an impasse.”
Next steps for Civic Block development
That left the City Council and Simison to consider their options.
One is continuing with a plan to move the Hunter Lateral away from the block. This would make the block more desirable for a future developer, said David Miles, chief of staff to Simison, in a meeting about the project on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
Moving the canal would cost the city an estimated $800,100. The City Council was expected to take up the lateral at a meeting Tuesday.
Simison and the six-member council still hope that with the $800,000 investment, the city can lure a future developer to fulfill their dreams of a revitalized and walkable Civic Block.
River Caddis’s withdrawal was first reported by BoiseDev.
This story was originally published November 15, 2023 at 4:00 AM.
