A new freeway is set to change this section of Meridian. Two developers want in
Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission members recently gave their stamp of approval to two development proposals near the coming Idaho 16 and Ustick Road interchange.
The developments are relatively small — one a 4-acre commercial project, the other a 36-acre housing and office development — but their location at the northeast corner of Ustick Road and the McDermott Road bypass is significant.
If approved, they would be among the first to go up in a pocket of Northwest Meridian that promises to be radically changed by the new interchange, which by 2045 is expected to carry up to 110,000 cars a day.
The interchange is part of a multimillion-dollar project to extend Idaho 16 south from State Street to Interstate 84 in a new four-lane, elevated freeway. An Idaho Transportation Department vision since the early 2000s, the corridor is expected to open in 2027, whisking travelers north to Emmett in roughly 20 minutes.
Here’s what developers plan and what the proposals could mean for a corner of the Treasure Valley on the cusp of big changes.
An early fight over ‘auto-oriented’ businesses
Boise real estate development firm Hawkins Cos. has applied to annex a 4-acre plot of land at 5900 W. Ustick Road into the city of Meridian and build a small cluster of commercial buildings there, application materials filed with the city show.
The land is designated for residential development, according to the city’s comprehensive plan, but Ethan Mansfield, Hawkins’ predevelopment manager, said the company saw an opportunity for commercial development to serve the new interchange, which is under construction to the west.
“It’s going to be one of just two entrances and exits to Highway 16 between Chinden (Boulevard) and the Interstate,” Mansfield told the Idaho Statesman in an interview. Counting Chinden, that means that drivers in the region will have three options for getting onto the freeway, Mansfield said.
“All of the homes and workers, and all the economic activity ... gets funneled to one of those three areas,” he said. On the interchange’s “hard corner,” that activity calls for gas stations, coffee shops and fast food — not more homes, he said.
So Hawkins asked the city to amend its comprehensive plan to allow for just that. Called McUstick, the development is expected to include up to four buildings: a 24-hour gas station and convenience store, a drive-thru coffee kiosk and possibly an oil-change business, car wash, bank or other “community-serving” business.
The proposal faced early pushback from city planning staff. At a May 7 planning and zoning hearing, Meridian Planning Supervisor Bill Parsons said the proposed “auto-oriented” businesses conflict with the city’s “vision for the area,” which includes limiting traffic-heavy uses near new Idaho 16 interchanges. Staff recommended the comprehensive-plan amendment be denied.
But Mansfield argued that the businesses are better suited for the high-traffic corridor than homes — and would have less of an impact there than farther away from the freeway.
“We, the community, spent ... up to $700 million in vehicular transportation infrastructure for this corridor,” Mansfield said at the hearing, referring to the state’s investment in the new Idaho 16 corridor. On top of that, the Ada County Highway District plans to widen Ustick Road to five lanes near the interchange, which Mansfield estimated at another $10 million. “We’re literally building a river for cars,” he said.
“It should come as no surprise based on our priorities as a community, and where we’re investing our money, that this would develop with auto-centric uses,” he said. “... Because cars require gas, they require lubrication, they require cleaning. People driving them require coffee.”
Meridian gives 2 projects initial OK on key corner
The planning and zoning commission gave McUstick a unanimous recommendation for approval on May 28, sending the project to the City Council for final say.
The commission also gave an initial green-light to an adjacent development plan. Called the Durango subdivision, it would bring 127 single-family homes and six office buildings to the roughly 36 acres of land north and east of McUstick.
The office buildings are intended for “low-impact” businesses like professional offices and technology and resource centers, according to Durango’s application materials. Mark Hess of Nampa-based J&J Hess LLC plans to head up that development.
The developments will have to return to City Hall for council consideration in July.
