Apartments coming to downtown Boise. 120-year-old homes will be removed to make way
A historic area of Boise will soon see new apartments go up.
The city’s Design Review Committee has approved an apartment building to replace a mobile-home park and three houses at the southwest corner of 11th and Lee streets, north of River Street in downtown’s southwest quadrant.
The four-story, 47,675-square-foot building would have 48 apartments, an office on the ground floor, and 41 parking spaces. The apartments would be eight studios, 25 one-bedrooms and 15 two-bedrooms.
Construction is set to begin early 2022.
When the application was submitted in June, the site contained nine mobile homes in the Rush Mobile Home Park and the three houses.
The mobile homes date back to the 1950s, when the property was owned by a man named Roy Spring. The majority are not in a “habitable condition,” according a progress report that developer Dean Papé of deChase Miksis filed with the city.
At the time, four tenants were renting on the site, but all have relocated. Tenants were provided “resources to find new housing” through CATCH, a nonprofit that assists those dealing with homelessness; the Idaho Housing and Finance Association; and nearby residential complexes, according to Papé’s report.
Two of the houses are particularly notable. One dates back to 1895 and the other to 1900. In 2017, a State Historic Preservation Office report had found that the houses could be eligible for historic preservation.
A report written by Kerry Davis, of Preservation Solutions in Boise, stated of the historic house that “the property’s turn-of-the-20th century design” can be seen through “its gable-front roof form with eaves returns, fenestration, and one-and-one-half story massing” and “wood windows, window casing trim, soffits and fascia trim, original quarter-light wood entrance door, and brick chimney.”
At first, developers attempted to relocate the historic structures. However, on Oct. 19, Papé applied to deconstruct the three existing homes on West Lee Street. Papé said relocation was not possible because the buildings “would not have remained structurally sound” if moved.
“Our structural engineer reviewed the project, which is required by Design Review, and he noted in there that their homes would not be able to be successfully moved off the property,” Papé told the Idaho Statesman by phone.
Papé said the material from the buildings will be salvaged and reused. He is hoping to repurpose the mobile homes.
“We’re working with another architectural design firm to try to figure out how best to use (the mobile homes),” Papé said. “Conversations have been had with other organizations on how can we go back in, basically rebuild them from the inside and use them somewhere else in the community.”
Original proposal documents in June were filed on behalf of Ann M. Scott Family Trust, then the property’s owner. In October, new documents were filed on behalf of new owner Heath Gregory, of California-based real estate company Baron Equities. Pivot North Architecture confirmed that the design has remained the same.
According to the original application, the planned apartments’ “high quality materials include cementitious lap siding, exterior plaster, wood vertical siding and soffits, vertical board-and-batten siding, metal awnings/balconies, and a sophisticated color palette.”
Pivot North Architecture wrote that the site would include “community benefits such as covered parking, stoops to activate the street, and generous covered and secured bicycle parking.”
Gregory is also listed as the owner of two adjoining properties, 1117 and 1119 W. Lee St. Gregory has filed applications requesting permission to combine all three addresses into a single 0.56-acre property. He has requested permits to deconstruct the structures on all three properties. The buildings would be torn apart in a way that allows pieces to be recycled.
Gregory did not return a request for comment.
Sally Krutzig covers Treasure Valley growth and development. Have a story suggestion or a question? Email Krutzig at skrutzig@idahostatesman.com.
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This article was updated to correct the size of the building.
