City wants to turn a forgotten parking lot into Boise’s new favorite hangout spot
The Capital City Development Corp., Boise’s urban renewal agency, is moving forward with its plan to transform the last three blocks of Grove Street into a community hub.
The latest plan is to acquire a 0.21-acre parcel at the corner of 6th and Grove streets for $1.42 million and transform it into a public space.
Located at 521 W. Grove St, the property sits across from two brand-new apartment buildings, The Thomas Logan and The Lucy. The adjacent block is Boise’s famed Basque Block.
“In recent months, we have discussed with the owner the potential of the property being redeveloped into a public space,” said John Brunelle, executive director of CCDC, in a presentation to the agency board on Monday. “In other words, we want to do what happened in the west side (of the block) recently: create paradise and get rid of a parking lot.”
The property is a privately managed surface parking lot owned by Miren Artiach. Artiach is a prominent member of the local Basque community and received a legacy award from the Basque Center in 2018. She grew up on Grove Street, just up the street from the parking lot, according to the center’s website. The parking lot sits across the street from the Basque Center, which was built with a grant for which Artiach helped apply.
Former mayor and current CCDC commissioner David Bieter said he hopes the property can be turned into something like the new Cherie Buckner-Webb Park. That downtown park, at 11th and Bannock streets, has a pink 23-foot-tall pink tree, an art installation with three swinging rope benches, alongside real trees, tables and chairs. Until recently, it too was a parking lot.
“This is just a great deal for everybody,” Bieter said at Monday’s board meeting. “It’s truly the last open piece of property in that vicinity. And that’s a good thing, (with) so many good things are going on in that area ... to have a little bit of dedicated public open space and do something interesting with it over time.”
As for just what exactly the design for the public space would be, there are no specific plans yet.
“Once all of that is said and done, and we have indeed acquired the parcel, we’ll most likely work through a public input and engagement process to understand the neighborhood’s ideas and needs for a public open space and incorporate amenities and design ideas from that input as well as the Old Boise Blocks visioning report,” agency spokesperson Jordyn Neerdaels said in an email.
Brunelle said he is hoping to close on the property by January.
The public space would be part of the city’s vision to “restore a sense of place” to the blocks of Grove Street between 3rd and 6th streets with a major redesign. The urban renewal agency, in partnership with city planning and other local groups, has been working for more than a year to create the Grove Street Redevelopment Strategy that would pump more than $15 million in public money to spruce up the blocks and entice private investment.
A significant portion of the street is expected to be redeveloped in coming years, according to the city’s comprehensive planning team. Property owners on every block are engaged in redevelopment discussions. Planners want to repurpose most, if not all, Grove Street parking lots. They hope to see the historic blocks restored to a mixed-use area with apartments, restaurants, shops, parks and plazas.
Sally Krutzig covers Treasure Valley growth and development. Have a story suggestion or a question? Email Krutzig at skrutzig@idahostatesman.com.
