Idaho owner of condemned Boise building brings legal fight back from the dead
The owner of the condemned downtown Union Block building has appealed his loss in court from earlier this year and filed a new lawsuit at the state level, court records show.
The owner, Kenneth Howell has been locked in an acrimonious battle with the city of Boise for years, after Boise staff raised concerns over temporary shoring posts bowing under the building’s weight and a crumbling facade, among other safety issues staff highlighted.
In late 2023, the city condemned the building, and Howell sued a few months later, in early 2024.
In the years since, visitors along Idaho Street in Boise have seen few signs of life from the tan edifice between Capitol Boulevard and Eighth Street. Instead, traffic cones have kept cars and pedestrians away from the orange fencing surrounding the building that once held Mai Thai and Moon’s Kitchen.
In March, U.S. District Court Judge David Nye ruled in favor of the city, saying Boise officials had evidence to support their decision and were protected because they were simply undertaking their job responsibilities.
“There simply is no case in which a building official was liable for violating a building owner’s substantive due process rights for declaring a building dangerous and ordering it temporarily vacated to protect the public health and safety,” Nye wrote in the order. “Plaintiffs have not pointed to any authority clearly prohibiting that conduct. They simply disagree with the result.”
Nye stopped short of handing a full victory to Boise. He dismissed some claims, which he said needed to be dealt with at the state level, without prejudice, meaning they could be filed again.
Howell appealed Nye’s decision in April. On May 20, he refiled some of his claims in Ada County District Court.
He argued that the city’s decision to condemn was arbitrary, uneducated and that the proof was in the pudding: The building, labeled “dangerous,” is still standing, he said. After the condemnation, he lost tenants, the lawsuit said.
The mayor’s spokesperson, Emilee Ayers, wrote in an email that the city is “working on finding ways to make the sidewalk and street safe to the public.” She declined to comment any further.
Howell’s lawyers didn’t return an email seeking comment, and a message left at Howell’s property management company was not returned.
