A neighborhood on the Boise Bench emerges as a development hot spot. What may come next
This story was updated Monday with comment from a spokesperson for Boise’s Planning and Development Services Department.
It’s been a constant refrain for years: The Boise Bench is the city’s next hot destination.
Though there have been many ideas to redevelop the area, many have fallen flat, such as the one to move the old fuel tank farm between Hartman Road and Phillippi Street.
But Latah Street in the Depot Bench neighborhood is gaining traction. The most recent redevelopment efforts have centered around the popular food hotspot of Wyld Child, The STIL and Push & Pour complex south of Morris Hill Cemetery.
In August, Boise developer Ryan Erstad announced plans to convert a cracked parking lot and aging office building across the street from the ice cream, coffee, burger complex into a four-story, 41-unit apartment building. Now, a new — and even bigger — project could be on the way.
Boise businessman Bart Griffin and Emmett’s B&G Properties propose a five-building, 288-unit apartment complex a block south from Wyld Child, The STIL and Push & Pour. The apartments would be across the street from Jefferson Elementary School and about a mile from Boise State University.
Griffin was one of three founding members of B&G Properties in 2004, along with Marshall Griffin and Lyman Belnap, the founder of Boise law firm Lyman Legal, according to Idaho Secretary of State records. The last time Bart Griffin was listed as a manager for the business was in 2017.
Griffin also founded the Dominican Treehouse Village hotel and resort on the northeastern edge of the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean.
The Latah Street apartments would comprise four buildings with 64 units each and one building with 28 units in a somewhat U-shape. All would be one-bedroom studios.
“It is a progressive design to create a smart community,” according to the permit application. “We are focused on having amazing (amenities) to create community and vibe.”
The complex calls for both surface-level and underground parking along with a playground and sport area for each building, according to architectural plans.
The timeline for the development is not clear. The current site includes some vacant land and single-family homes owned by people other than the Griffins and B&G Properties, according to Ada County Assessor’s Office records. There are still five properties yet to be consolidated at 123, 203, 209, 223 and 287 S. Latah St., according to the city of Boise.
Griffin and the Depot Bench Neighborhood Association did not immediately return requests for comment.
Boise officials say developers must change their plan
The developers completed a second concept review with the city of Boise’s Planning and Development Services Department in mid-November. The next step in the development process calls for scheduling a neighborhood meeting with nearby residents.
According to Lindsay Moser, spokesperson for the city’s Planning and Development Services Department, there is no active application yet for the project, and the developer would need to make some design changes to take further steps.
In a summary of the concept-review meeting, city planners said Griffin and B&G Properties “has to consider and mitigate the potential impact this project may bring to the single-family dominated neighborhood” and would need to revise the site plan and building heights to meet city codes.
Moser also said that while property ownership is not required during the concept-review stage, the city would require all property owners to sign a statement of legal interest to allow Griffin and B&G Properties to develop there.
“It is the first thing we review and verify for an application,” Moser said. “In this case, it is not there yet.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2024 at 4:00 AM.
