Ada County is working on a new plan for the Expo Idaho property, home of the Western Idaho Fair.
Kyle Green
Statesman file
Should the Expo Idaho site remain the home of the Western Idaho Fair? Should it become home to a bigger stadium and an events center with residential and other development? Or should it become a downtown district for Garden City?
Those questions face Ada County commissioners as they weigh the future of the site, which occupies increasingly valuable riverside property along bustling Chinden Boulevard and Glenwood Street.
On Thursday, a national panel of development experts who took up the questions at the county’s request offered the commissioners an answer: Do all three.
The panel from the Urban Land Institute, a network of real estate and land use experts, spent one week assessing proposals for the property made by acitizens advisory committee in 2020.
“I can’t think of any other opportunities actually in Ada County that could create such broad community benefits at such a large scale as these 247 acres,” said urban planning expert David Armitage, director of asset management for Heartland, a Seattle real estate advisory and investment firm.
Last year’s citizen committee created three scenarios for the future of the site at the northeast intersection of Chinden(State Highway 20) and Glenwood(State Highway 44).
The first was an agriculture heritage park with farm-to-table restaurants, breweries, vineyards, an equestrian center and exposition space. The second was a sports stadium and event venue, with green space, a fishing pond and an archery range. The third was a downtown Garden City, with offices, shops, restaurants and housing.
The panel said all of these could happen, andthere was no need to choose one over the others. The bigger question is what should happen first.
Theexperts recommended that county officials decide the future of the 247-acre Expo Idaho property in Garden City in the next six to 12 months. That timeline is intended to jump-start a 10- to 35-year plan to transform the property into a community hub used 365 days a year, far more than it is now.
The first step, they said, should be to createa master plan, estimated to cost up to $500,000, in the next year.
The Expo Idaho property is 247 acres at the intersection of State Highways 20 and 44 in Ada County. An issue with the land is part of it lies on a flood plain, limiting what can be build on it. The Urban Land Institute solved this by suggesting that area become parkland. The Urban Land Institute
Preserving Expo Idaho’s legacy
All panelists noted the importance of Expo Idaho to the community. It is home to the Western Idaho Fair, which attracts 250,000 visitors each summer, the Boise Hawks stadium and the former Les Bois Park horse racing track.
This “legacy” should be preserved, the panel advised, by keeping Expo Idaho and the Western Idaho Fair on the site while increasing green space and amenities.
Preliminary results of an Ada County survey indicate the idea of preserving the location of the fair is popular. In the survey, 86% of nearly 6,000 people who had responded by June 23 said they want the Western Idaho Fair to stay where it is. Fifty-two percent want the Greenbelt expanded there, 51% want natural spaces, 36% want a sports complex/stadium, and 32% want an agricultural heritage park.
The survey results were not shown to the panel; panelists created their recommendations independent of the survey. The survey will remain open until Sept. 1.
Relocating Lady Bird Park
One of the most significant recommendations the panel made was to move Lady Bird Park, a 20-acre area of open space, sports fields and seating on the site’s south side.
The park would expand to 101 acres. Most of it would be natural space with a nature preserve, with wetlands and grasslands habitats, a nature center, trails, and Greenbelt and riverfront access.
The planners also proposed torepurpose the race track and the current RV park as part of an expanded Lady Bird Park. Twenty-three acres would become seven recreational fields for soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, football, baseball and softball.
The Urban Land Institute created this map that incorporates all major citizen suggestions into the Expo Idaho site. The green along the river would be the new location of an expanded Lady Bird Park. The sports fields would be placed between the two green arrows. The fields would also serve as the new location of the Western Idaho Fair for 10 days of the year. The green circle is a new stadium’s location. The purple and part of the red represent Garden City’s proposed town center, with hotels and commercial buildings. The middle blue area is the Expo Idaho Center and a proposed new agriculture center. Urban Land Institute
New Expo Center, Memorial Stadium and agriculture center
The panel said Ada County would benefit from a new stadium and Expo Center. Those would be built in new locations on the property.
The experts said these buildings would create additional revenue by attracting year-round events such as indoor sports, concerts and trade shows. A “bigger, better stadium” could have 4,000 seats, higher quality seating and lighting, concessions and lockers rooms.
A developer’s stadium and development proposal is already on the table. Agon Sports, which owns the Hawks; Agon’s sister business, the Greenstone Properties development firm in Atlanta; and Ball Ventures Ahlquist, a Meridian developer, announced in August 2020 a proposal to develop the Expo Idaho site with a new baseball and soccer stadium, multifamily and single-family homes, a hotel, office buildings, restaurants, stores and a parking deck. The developers would retain the Western Idaho Fair grounds.
The Urban Land Institute panel also suggested adding an agricultural center to the site to “preserve the agricultural heritage” and enhance agriculture education.
The Urban Land Institute created a phased plan that Ada County could use to build the future Expo Idaho. The Urban Land Institute
Funding
The panelestimated the total costs to Ada County to implement all suggested Expo Idaho projects at $172.3 million. (The Agon/Greenstone/BVA plan would cost an estimated $400 million.)
According to the panel, this funding could come from user and impact fees, bonding, tournament fees, state and federal grants, naming rights, sponsorships, rental fees, concessions, hotel and tourism taxes, private investors, urban renewal agencies, donations, selling or leasing property, revenue sharing, sales tax, improvement districts and development exchanges.
The panel was led by Sarah Sieloff, senior planner at Maul Foster Alongi, a planning and development consulting firm in Vancouver, Washington. Other panelists were Armitage; Cielo Castro, chief of staff, Fairplex, Pomona, California; Nick Duerksen, economic development director, Sandy City, Sandy, Utah; Peter McEaneaney, vice president, Thor Equities, New York; Stacey Mosely, director of research, Brandywine Realty Trust, Philadelphia; Stephanie Pankiewicz, partner, Land Design, Alexandria, Virginia; and Nicolia Robinson, associate principal, Cooper Carry, Atlanta.
▪ What do you think the priority should be for Expo Idaho? Tell us in our reader survey. Follow this link if you can’t see it below.
This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been revised. The Ada County survey was not shown to Urban Land Institute panelists and did not factor into their recommendations. Also, the panel’s $172.3 million cost estimate covers costs only to Ada County, not all development costs.
Reporter Sally Krutzig covers local government, growth and breaking news for the Idaho Statesman. She previously covered the Idaho State Legislature for the Post Register.Support my work with a digital subscription
