7,000 houses, with 2,200 to start: Giant new development planned in Eagle’s Foothills
After over a decade of stagnation, a development company hopes to build more than 2,000 homes in the Eagle Foothills. And that’s just the first step toward a much larger community as Idaho’s Treasure Valley grows.
The Eagle City Council approved a plan from Orem, Utah, developer GWC Capital to build on just over 1,000 acres of the 6,000-acre Spring Valley property.
The project includes 2,200 homes, 150,000 square feet of non-residential construction, and 504 acres of open space, the application said. The project would be located near the northeast intersection of Idaho 16 at Equest Lane, about one mile north of the intersection of Beacon Light and Linder roads.
At full build-out, Spring Valley could have up to 7,100 homes, Mayor Jason Pierce said. That would make it one of the largest subdivisions in the Boise area.
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Brook Cole, who represented GWC Capital at the council meeting, said the 2,200 homes would include single-family houses, town houses and apartments. Homes sold would range in price from $250,000 to $1 million or more. He said the rental properties would be offered at market rates.
With the council’s latest approval, GWC Capital will have to return to the council with a development application before it can start building.
Spring Valley has a long history of changing hands.
The Dallas Police and Fire Pension System bought the land in 2005 for $42 million. It hired Arizona-based M3 Cos. to develop it. The idea for Spring Valley took shape in 2007, when M3 won approval from Eagle to annex the 6,000 acres of real estate into the city. M3 said at the time that the community would include 7,160 homes, a hotel, a vineyard, equestrian centers and restaurants.
The development was close to being built in 2014 when Eagle approved a preliminary plan for the project’s first subdivision: 190 homes on 346 acres with a wastewater-treatment plant on the western edge of the property, just east of Idaho 16 at Pollard Lane. But that didn’t happen, because the pension fund made some questionable investments, and it ended up selling the Spring Valley property to M3.
GWC Capital bought the land last year, according to the Ada County Assessor’s website. GWC Capital is a subsidiary of Clyde Cos., which owns construction stores and development companies.
In 2007, the city of Eagle established the planning-unit master-plan process to allow the city to hear proposals from Spring Valley one section at a time. The process ensures that the development complies with city code and Spring Valley’s master plan, and that it has up-to-date engineering studies as it develops over time, said Nichoel Baird Spencer, long-range planner with the city of Eagle.
The Eagle City Council approved the first planning-unit master-plan for Spring Valley on Tuesday.
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“There are steps here, and this is one of many coming,” said Eagle Councilman Brad Pike.
Cole said the developer plans to set aside land for a public school, a community center, fire and police stations, public wells, water tanks and maybe a library or other public space. He also said GWC plans to have an extensive trail system and a neighborhood park.
One Eagle resident who lives near the 1,000 acres, Eric Schirmer, was concerned with how the developer would ensure the 2,200 new homes have enough water without depleting the wells of other homes in the area.
Schirmer was the only member of the public to testify in opposition to Spring Valley.
Spring Valley is not the only big planned community that Eagle is considering.
The City Council has also had meetings with the developers and directors of Avimor, a project that would include 10,000 homes on nearly 36 square miles of the Eagle Foothills in parts of three counties. If Spring Valley is approved, Avimor could be next. It is directly east of Spring Valley in the Foothills.
