Boise evaluates housing growth, climate risks and resilience

Boise is tackling complex challenges as its population grows and needs intensify. A Boise State study shows supportive housing like New Path has saved $9 million in emergency services, but homelessness is rising as affordable housing remains scarce. Residents have voiced concerns over dense developments like the 200-apartment building on Federal Way and worry about safety in fire-prone neighborhoods with only a single road for evacuation.

Climate change is also taking a toll, with extreme heat and wildfire smoke halting road maintenance projects. Amid these pressures, the city weighs historic preservation against redevelopment, as seen with the threatened demolition of the Nathan Smith House and approval of new infill apartments.

The Oct. 30 Leeds Fire burned around 350 acres in Southeast Boise and neared residents’ homes in the Sunny Ridge subdivision off Columbia Road, about two miles from the Micron campus. This photo from Rachaelle Larsen-Grimsrud’s backyard shows the flames near her home.

NO. 1: FIRES IN A GROWING PART OF BOISE COULD TRAP RESIDENTS. WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE ROAD OUT?

Hundreds of residents of three subdivisions in Southeast Boise near Micron have only one escape route: Columbia Road. Developers have plans for more homes. | Published November 18, 2024 | Read Full Story by Nick Rosenberger

The New Path apartment building, at 2200 W. Fairview Ave. in Boise, houses people who previously were chronically homeless.

NO. 2: A STUDY SAYS BOISE’S APARTMENTS FOR THE HOMELESS WORK. SO WHY IS HOMELESSNESS STILL RISING?

January count shows 14% jump in homelessness in Ada County since last year. Official says rising housing cost, lack of housing stock drive the increase. | Published November 22, 2024 | Read Full Story by Sarah Cutler

Ada County Highway Department workers on a chip-spreader vehicle distribute gravel over a polymer-infused oil while performing chipseal work on South 12th Street in Boise in 2015. Several rubber-tire roller vehicles follow the chip spreader and push the gravel into the oil.

NO. 3: CLIMATE CHANGE TAKES AN UNEXPECTED TOLL ON ADA COUNTY ROAD MAINTENANCE. THIS IS HOW

2024 was an “abnormal” year, but it may become the new normal, a top Ada County Highway District official says. | Published November 23, 2024 | Read Full Story by Sarah Cutler

Boise’s The Cabin literary nonprofit plans to renovate its 1940-built log building and add an amphitheater called Henry’s Storytelling Grove after Boise resident Henry Reents, who passed away in 2023. This rendering shows the future amphitheater looking west, toward the Boise River Greenbelt. The Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial is out of frame at right.

NO. 4: THIS HISTORIC BUILDING WILL CHANGE AS A POPULAR CORNER OF DOWNTOWN BOISE GETS A MAKEOVER

The Cabin, a long-running literary arts nonprofit that has attracted national and international talent, is expanding near the Boise River Greenbelt. | Published January 26, 2025 | Read Full Story by Nick Rosenberger

The Boise City Council rejected an appeal of this 4- and 5-story, nearly 200-unit apartment building from Boise’s Hawkins Cos. at 1095 S. Federal Way on the edge of the Boise Bench. Neighbors argued that the building was too tall, was too dense, would negatively impact them, would add traffic hazards and that it didn’t fit into the neighborhood. This rendering shows the building from the southwest corner of Kootenai and Pico streets.

NO. 5: BOISEANS OPPOSED THIS 200-APARTMENT BUILDING. THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED IT ANYWAY. WHY?

Neighbors argued the building was too tall, was too dense and didn’t fit the character of the neighborhood. It could start going up near Boise State University soon. | Published February 6, 2025 | Read Full Story by Nick Rosenberger

School officials and neighbors have voiced concern over dust that will be generated as two buildings are planned for demolition across Linden Street from White Pine Elementary and Timberline High School in East Boise. By Darin Oswald

NO. 6: HOW THE BOISE SCHOOL BOARD JUST SURPRISED NEIGHBORS ANGERED BY A PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

Hundreds of Boiseans opposed the project, saying it could expose children to asbestos, cause traffic headaches and change the neighborhood. The Boise School District voted to buy it instead. | Published February 13, 2025 | Read Full Story by Nick Rosenberger

The Nathan Smith House is listed with the National Register of Historic Places at 2315 S. Broadway Ave. in Boise. It survived a fire on Nov. 28, on the lot where a new development is planned around the structure. The house was built in 1900 by Tourtellotte and Hummel, the same firm that designed the Idaho Statehouse and Boise High School. By Darin Oswald

NO. 7: A HISTORIC BOISE HOME COULD BE DEMOLISHED OVER SAFETY CONCERNS. WHAT HAPPENED?

Fire damage makes it “impossible to justify the financial implications,” according to a Boise construction company. But “with enough money anything … can be repaired.” | Published May 23, 2025 | Read Full Story by Nick Rosenberger

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.