ITD is leaving State Street. Its 45-acre property could soon see big development
The Idaho Transportation Department has held on to its sprawling 45-acre State Street headquarters location for the last 60 years. In those decades, the city has grown until the spot has become one of the last large properties near downtown suitable for redevelopment.
Now development may be coming. ITD announced Wednesday that it was officially vacating the property.
The department has been quick to assure Idahoans that the department will keep its headquarters in Boise. It has moved to the state office campus at 11311 W. Chinden Blvd., the site of the 200-acre Hewlett-Packard campus the state purchased in 2018.
“It won’t change the services, just the location service,” Reed Hollinshead, ITD spokesperson, said by phone. “The quality of the service, the timeliness, all of those things aren’t changing at all.”
The department had hoped to move into Building 3 of the former HP campus, but that has been delayed until repairs can be made. For now, the department will be working in Building 8. (The buildings are numbered in the order that HP built them.)
The Idaho Transportation Board has been considering changing locations for years. Last year, the board discussed replacing the State Street building. It is the original building from 60 years ago and was in serious need of repairs after flood damage. After weighing financial options, Hollinshead said the board decided to take a new direction.
“It would have been March that they decided that it was in the best interest of the state financially to abandon that old building,” Hollinshead said.
Boise has long eyed the State Street area as a center of urban renewal, as the need for housing and development areas has increased. The Boise City Council approved an urban-renewal district there effective Jan. 1 of this year. Blueprint Boise, the city’s long-term growth plan, outlines its goals to increase density and business there.
“Encourage high-density, transit-supportive, mixed-use development along the Main/Fairview/30th Street Extension, at the ITD site at Rose Street and the 30th Street Extension, and along the Main/Fairview Corridor consistent with the 30th Street Area Master Plan,” Blueprint Boise states.
Though no development plans have been announced yet, Hollinshead said he expects many will be interested.
“I think that’s one of the last pieces of non-commercialized real estate in downtown Boise,” Hollinshead said. “It’s located right there next to the Boise River, and just around the corner is Whitewater Park. I’m sure there are multiple parties wanting to get their hands on that. It’s a very desirable piece of land.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
