CWI aims to ‘anchor’ riverfront with Boise campus. When will building begin?

The College of Western Idaho is closing in on construction for the start of its new “River District” campus in Boise’s West End.

The city signed off on an early round of permits for the wide-ranging project in late December: approvals for the foundation of CWI’s four-story, 101,000-square-foot academic building at the intersection of Whitewater Park Boulevard and Main Street near the Greenbelt in Veterans Park.

Meridian developer Ahlquist is working on that project with the school. They plan to build storefronts, housing, a hotel and a parking garage alongside the classroom building.

“It’s all trending really positively right now,” Ryan Cleverley, Ahlquist’s chief operating officer, told the Idaho Statesman. “It’s really going to activate the river on that side.”

CWI and Ahlquist broke ground on the campus in June. Cleverley said his team is finalizing final building permits for the classroom building, as well as the retail space and parking garage.

The hotel is undergoing design review now, he said, and shouldn’t be far behind. The site’s 216-unit apartment complex is taking the longest as the developer works out a housing plan with the city.

Heading into 2026, the school says it’s on track to hold classes in its new home starting in fall 2027.

The plan is a lynchpin for both the school and the neighborhood, which continues to see rapid redevelopment.

For its part, CWI has sought to expand its footprint in Ada County since shortly after it opened its doors in 2009. Idaho’s largest community college, CWI served some 34,000 students during the 2024-25 academic year, according to the school’s annual report, and enrollment has grown for nine straight years.

In 2016, the school’s trustees sought a $180 million bond to expand its home base in Nampa and build a Boise campus on the West End site. The property formerly housed a Ford dealership. CWI purchased it for $8.8 million in 2015. But the bond failed — and the idea stalled. The college continues to lease space in Boise office buildings for classrooms.

A public-private partnership with Ahlquist revived the plan in 2024, the Statesman reported. Working with the developer allowed CWI to build the new academic center with money from the college’s own building fund, donors and expected business revenue without asking voters for tax money.

Ashley Smith, CWI spokesperson, told the Statesman in March that the academic building would cost $38 million.

The Boise campus will house “high demand” programs, namely computer science, cybersecurity and business, along with “modern classrooms and student support spaces,” Smith told the Statesman in an email on Tuesday. Ultimately, Smith said, CWI believes that bringing classes into the college’s own building will “not only enhance collaboration and student access but also realize long‑term cost savings from reduced lease expenses.”

“Establishing this new footprint along the river creates a central location for CWI in Boise that strengthens connections to employers, improves access for students, and anchors a mixed-use district that will include housing, retail, and other amenities,” Smith said. “Being located on the Greenbelt and near key transportation routes will make it easier for students and community members to engage with the College and participate in the region’s economic and workforce growth.”

Ahlquist has promised to finish the classrooms before classes start in 2027, Cleverley said. He estimates that the classrooms, as well as the shops/garage structure, will open in June 2027. The hotel will be a few months behind that, but he hopes to see it finished by the end of 2027. The housing piece is likely two years out, he said.

“You’ll start to see some building going on here soon,” he said.