Homeless-shelter beds and low-income apartments coming to Boise in ‘26. Where?

After five years of legal wrangling, the Interfaith Sanctuary plans to move guests into its new State Street shelter at the end of January.

That’s one reason 2026 is on track to be a big year for housing more of Boise’s homeless and low-income residents. Along with 205 shelter beds, projects are underway to deliver more than 650 new income-restricted apartments over the next two years, thanks largely to city and federal aid.

Interfaith’s move comes amid a new challenge by the Veterans Park Neighborhood Association, which has petitioned a court to overturn the city of Boise’s approval for a second time to halt the shelter.

But Interfaith Sanctuary Executive Director Jodi Peterson-Stigers said the pending litigation doesn’t invalidate the shelter’s permit to operate, which was unanimously approved by Boise’s Planning and Zoning Commission in July and confirmed on appeal by the Boise City Council in a 5-1 vote in September.

The new shelter is in a retrofitted Salvation Army warehouse a 4306 W. State St. It features the 205 beds, with an emergency maximum capacity of 236, Peterson-Stigers said.

“I’m hopeful that as we move in, some of the [neighbors’] fears won’t be realized, and we can have a different conversation,” she told the Statesman in an interview.

The move will bring an end to operations at Interfaith’s longtime base on West River Street. It will also vacate rooms the shelter rents from the nearby Red Lion Downtowner hotel, which it used to house an additional 60 people, primarily families and the infirm. Those staying at the hotel now will move into rooms at the new State Street building.

A main difference between the old shelter and the new: Guests will be able to stay 24/7, rather than leaving every morning and lining up each evening for beds — a “life-saving game changer” for the unhoused, Peterson-Stigers said.

“When someone has a place to be day and night, their outcomes improve significantly.”

‘New Path 2.0’ to expand unhoused offering

Interfaith Sanctuary’s privately funded shelter isn’t the only project targeting homelessness in the year ahead. The City of Boise plans on opening New Path 2.0, a publicly funded expansion of the existing New Path Apartments, later in 2026, according to city spokeswoman Maria Ortega.

Ortega didn’t have a specific move-in date but said that the “permanent supportive housing” operation is expected to provide 95 new apartments for households exiting homelessness starting in the new year.

The addition greatly expands operations at New Path, which opened with 40 units in 2018, Ortega said. The under-construction wing would add 63 studios and 32 one-bedroom apartments at the corner of West Fairview Avenue and North 22nd Street.

“Like New Path, these additional 95 homes will support Boise residents by providing them with a stable home and wraparound support services, including case management, health care, and mental health counseling,” the city said on its website.

The project is a partnership with The Pacific Cos., a multifamily housing developer in Eagle. The city contributed $5.5 million of COVID-era funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to help finance the project.

‘Capitol Campus’ looks to break new ground

Boise’s boldest housing partnership to date could get underway in the new year. The Capitol Campus at the Lusk District aims to redevelop a block near Boise State University to accommodate 350 apartments in a mixed-use property, Ortega said.

The concept calls for homes at a range of price points, but some would be “deeply affordable,” the city states.

Boise already manages 110 units in what it calls the Capitol Campus, a block between South Capitol Boulevard and Lusk Street at 1025 S. Capitol Blvd. and 1028 S. Lusk St. Those apartments are “deteriorating,” the city stated, and near the end of their useful lives. The Lusk District idea would more than triple the inventory on site “in a way that aligns with the neighborhood’s vision to create a space that all can enjoy, while ensuring the current tenants remain stably housed,” the city stated.

The plan is a partnership between the city, Boise State University and J. Fischer Cos., a Utah developer.

As of year’s end, the developer had filed a plan for concept review with Boise’s planning department, Ortega said.

Two affordable projects on longer timelines

J. Fisher is already building another city-backed apartment complex on the West Bench. Construction is underway at Dorado Station, a 212-unit project at 1500 N. Eldorado St.

Dorado Station is being built on two acres of land purchased by the city in 2022 and is utilizing federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financing. The six-story building will be income-averaged for residents earning 60% of area median income; in 2025, that means $44,940 for an individual or $64,200 for a family of four, per city data.

The project expects to open for leasing in fall 2027, Ortega said. J. Fisher did not respond to a request for comment on the timeline.

Meanwhile, design changes have delayed The Sherwood, a New Path-style development for people exiting homelessness, by at least a year. The 860 W. Sherwood St. apartment complex aims to open in the late 2027, Ortega said. The city had previously targeted summer 2026.

The city’s forthcoming housing efforts build on momentum gained 2025. In December, Boise and a clutch of development partners opened The Denton Street Apartments on the Bench with the help of $6.7 million in city funding.

That complex represents city’s largest affordable housing project to date, with 191 units earmarked for residents making up to 80% of the area median income. Nineteen of those will be set for Our Path Home to rent to families exiting homelessness, according to the city.