Historic downtown Boise building condemned by city for ‘dangerous’ structural issues
The historic Union Block building in downtown Boise that houses Moon’s Kitchen and Mai Thai was condemned for structural safety concerns.
Notices posted to the building’s doors on Thursday said “Do not enter. Unsafe to occupy.” In the letters, the city’s Planning and Development Services department said the decision was made following an inspection earlier that day. It cited several subsections of the city’s code for dangerous buildings, including whenever any portion of a structure is “likely to fail, or become dislodged or to collapse and thereby injure or damage property.”
Tim Keane, director of the department, did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.
The Ada County Highway District closed the sidewalk, on-street parking and far-right lane of traffic next to the building on Idaho Street between Capitol Boulevard and Eighth Street. The closures were “a precautionary measure due to structural integrity issues” made at the request of the city, the agency said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Friday.
In the city’s order to vacate the building, it also cited building code that applies to structures where any part “is wracked, warped, buckled or settled to such an extent that the walls or other structural portions have materially less resistance to winds or earthquakes.”
The Union Block building is owned by Ken Howell, a longtime downtown Boise developer who’s responsible for several notable projects, such as the 2001 renovation of the Idanha Hotel.
The notice posted to the building said Howell has 30 days to get building permits to address the issues and 60 days to complete the necessary repairs.
This story was originally published November 11, 2023 at 6:09 PM.
