New apartments coming for busy North End, downtown Boise intersection. Rent may be cheap
New homes are coming to one of Boise’s busiest streets.
Construction crews are set to put up the 104-unit North End Lofts at 1522 W. State St., across from Albertsons and on the small northeast corner of the busy intersection of State and 16th streets. The six-story apartment building would usher in an influx of mixed-income housing to an area between downtown Boise and the North End.
The development is on the site of a former gas station and would be within half a mile of popular destinations including Westside Drive-In, Fanci Freeze, DK Donuts, Boise High School, the downtown Boise YMCA and roughly a mile from Hyde Park and the Capitol.
“We believe that this product type … is a much-needed product type, especially in urban centers where affordability has become a priority,” said Kelten Johnson of Seattle-based Developer Johnson & Carr, which is developing the building, by email.
The building would include ground-floor retail and five stories of apartments, with all units reserved as affordable or workforce housing — which caps the rent at 30% of income for households at certain income levels.
Of the 104 units, 66 would be reserved for those making about 100% of the area median income, 37 for those at 60% and one at 40%.
In Boise, 100% of the area median income in 2024 for a one-person household was $69,115; at 60% it was $41,160; and at 40% it was roughly $27,600. (Levels are set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They do not have a set level for 40%). That means rent would max out at $1,728, $1,029 and around $691, respectively.
(100% of Median Income)
| Household Size| | Annual Gross Income| | Affordable Rent |
| 1 Person | $69,115 | $1,728 |
| 2 Person | $78,998 | $1,975 |
| 3 Person | $88,880 | $2,222 |
| 4 Person | $98,700 | $2,468 |
The development sits within the Westside Urban Renewal District and is set to receive over $650,000 from the city’s urban renewal agency, Capital City Development Corp., according to prior Idaho Statesman reporting. The total development cost was, at the time, estimated at $23 million.
According to Johnson, the company received $4 million from the Idaho Workforce Housing Fund and another $1.2 million in annual tax credits, which brought them to the current affordability levels.
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program helps private companies build affordable housing developments for credits that reduce their federal taxes. The Legislature created the Idaho Work Force Housing Fund in 2022 to use dollars from the COVID-19-era federal American Rescue Plan Act to build more workforce housing. Workforce housing generally means units reserved for those who make 80% to 120% of the area median income.
Conventional investing and construction lending made up the rest of funding, Johnson said.
“(It) made for a more complex project, but one that is economically viable and also even more needed in the city,” Johnson said.
Johnson & Carr will be celebrating the building’s groundbreaking with Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, Seattle-based WG Clark Construction and the Capital City Development Corp. at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 15, at 1522 W. State St. Johnson said crews are aiming to finish construction in early spring 2026.
A full list of Boise’s income and affordable rent guidelines can be found at https://www.cityofboise.org/departments/planning-and-development-services/housing-and-community-development/income-guidelines/.
This story was originally published November 14, 2024 at 1:33 PM.
