Mayor calls off Southwest land swap, says Foothills deal doesn’t make financial sense
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean has called off a land swap with the family that owns Harris Ranch after neighbors of a promised but unbuilt park in Southwest Boise objected to the family’s proposal to build houses there.
The city was considering trading the city-owned land, known as the Murgoitio parcel, to the Harris family in exchange for 250 acres of Foothills land above the Harris Ranch planned community in Southeast Boise. The Harris family proposed to build high-density housing on the Murgoitio site, south of Victory Road and between Cole and Maple Grove roads.
The city has been discussing the deal since February 2020, Park Superintendant Jennifer Tomlinson told the Idaho Statesman.
But the city has been promising to build a park there since the 1990s. In the past few weeks, neighbors have organized to stop the trade.
Now McLean says the property’s value has increased so much that the proposed trade would not be worthwhile.
“There has been a lot of discussion in our community about the possibility of a land swap involving the 157-acre Murgoitio parcel owned by the city of Boise,” McLean said Monday in a news release. “As I shared at last week’s Boise City Council work session, the city has been doing its due diligence to look into the details of the proposed trade due to the potential to build much needed, affordable housing at the site.
“The value of the Murgoitio parcel is currently under review, and we expect to have an updated broker’s opinion in the coming days,” McLean said. “In light of skyrocketing land values in the area, it’s anticipated that this broker’s opinion will be significantly higher than the previous broker’s opinion obtained in 2020 that estimated the property’s worth at approximately $7.8 million.”
The Boise School District sold 15 acres of land near Murgoitio earlier this month for $12.04 million, meaning the land sold for $800,000 an acre. At that price for 157 acres, the Murgoitio property would be worth $125.6 million. Harris’ Foothills land was appraised at $15 million, reported Boise Dev.
McLean said she believed the Harris exchange no longer makes “financial sense” and is “no longer under consideration.”
The land swap prompted the City Council to consider annexing the entire Southwest Boise area, more than 10 square miles, that is home to 34,000 people. Neighbors in the past opposed annexation, not wanting to add city taxes to their property-tax bills.
Over the last month, Southwest residents have responded to the potential loss of the park with a number of opposition efforts, including hiring an attorney and picketing City Hall. Alexandria Danilovich, co-founder of a nonprofit that formed to fight for Murgoitio park, said she is glad McLean is “doing the right thing,” though she still wants to ensure the park happens.
“I’m joyful and surprised all at the same time,” said Danilovich. “I’m finally going to get a good night’s sleep.”
This story was originally published July 19, 2021 at 4:31 PM.
