This developer tried to reduce density in proposed home project. Boise said no
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boise Council denied Alscott’s proposal to lower density, keeping the 13‑unit plan intact.
- Developer cited market demand and unsold townhome lots.
- 'People wanted more space,’ developer Brian Scott says; he’ll pursue alternative options.
At the beginning of the long winding road up to Bogus Basin, just north of Camel’s Back Park, a developer envisioned 12 townhomes and five single-family houses.
At least, that was the plan, according to Brian Scott, vice president of real estate at Alscott Real Estate Group. The company since has tried to reduce the density of the project by changing the townhomes into single-family homes, citing market trends and the death of a partner on the townhomes. But his plan faced steep opposition from the City Council on Dec. 2 and drew a question of whether some housing was better than no housing.
Scott is a former race-car driver and the great-grandson of Joe and Kathryn Albertson. Joe Albertson, along with two cofounders (including Scott’s father), started Alscott in 1976.
“As the project started taking shape, a lot of things happened. COVID happened,” Scott told the Statesman. “People wanted more space. They didn’t want to be in townhomes. Everybody was trying to figure out how to have yards and dogs.”
At first, their aims of reducing density worked. In 2021, two years after the city first approved the proposal, Scott’s company came back and changed eight townhome lots into four single-family home lots, according to the Dec. 2 council agenda.
But in 2023, his company tried to change over the remaining four townhome lots. This was an even bigger density decrease that required a public hearing.
Boise’s Planning and Zoning Commission nixed the attempt. That’s in part because in 2019, the city of Boise gave his company extra flexibility and advantages in the zoning in exchange for the higher density and a mix of housing types like the townhomes, according to the council agenda.
However, Scott contends that his proposed change could have had the benefit of requiring fewer variances from city standards than the townhomes required. He also said the city approved some variances because it’s a “challenging hillside location.”
At least one Planning and Zoning commissioner was sympathetic.
“I am sensitive to the applicant’s argument about market demand,” Commissioner Milt Gillespie told the company in 2023 as he voted to deny their density decrease. “If, in a year or two, we’re back in the same boat, I would understand that and think it would be appropriate for us to revisit it at that time.”
Scott’s company came back before the council in early December, after Planning and Zoning again rejected his application in September for the same reasons. Scott was trying to get the 5-acre development to 11 units from 13.
Deborah Nelson, the attorney representing Alscott, told the council that Alscott just could not sell the townhome lots. Buyers were interested in patio homes, which are a similar size to the townhomes but are primarily single-level, she said. Several neighbors supported the company’s proposed change, she told the council.
If it was a new application, it would meet all the criteria to be in the area, she said, in response to a question from Council Member Luci Willits.
“They have tried to build out what they originally asked for. They wanted higher density too,” Nelson said. “That’s why they came in with that.”
But the council ultimately voted 4-2 to deny the density change, with Council Members Willits and Nash voting to allow it.
Willits said if the council denied the application, there won’t be housing on the land for at least two years. The city would “lose housing because we will be in search of the perfect … versus what we can get today.”
“This is a great area for density. I would like to see much more than 17 units,” Council Member Jimmy Hallyburton said. “This would be a great place for some multifamily housing. It’s right down the street from where I live.”
Of the 13 lots, four are the unsold townhome lots, four are patio home lots and five are larger estate lots, Scott said. All the patio home lots are sold.
At this point, Scott has two larger single-family home lots left to sell, for around $400,000 to $500,000. At the site, three patio homes and two estate homes have already been built, he said.
Based on the market, if the townhomes are around 3,000 square feet, the buyer would likely pay around $1 million for the unit, Scott said. The patio homes would be a similar size and price range, according to Nelson.
The townhome lots are priced in the mid $300,000 range, Scott said.
He told the Statesman that the company is trying to figure out what its options are and is exploring possible paths.
“We’re interested in seeing homes built up there,” Scott said. “We’ve just been trying to sell the lots, and everyone wants them to be single-family home lots. We don’t think it’s in anyone’s interest to continue to see empty dirt lots.”
