Want to live in the Village at Meridian? Take a look at these proposed ‘premium’ apartments
CenterCal prides itself in its ability to predict “emerging markets,” or communities on the precipice of growth.
The California-based development company opened The Village at Meridian, the 846,000-square-foot outdoor shopping center with restaurants and a movie theater, in 2013.
Now, CenterCal hopes to take advantage of the need for places to live by adding apartments to The Village. The project, called The Bridge, would have 550 apartments in two six-story buildings and 34,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.
Centercal describes The Bridge as “a premium, community experience designed for living well.”
The Bridge would be built on 6.5 acres on the The Village property’s west side.
“There’s a shortage of housing in the market, and so in order to meet the needs of the community and the market we decided to move forward with in the next phase of this project,” said Hugh Crawford, director of property management for CenterCal, by phone.
Crawford said the first residential component of The Village was Brighton Development’s Bri at The Village, an apartment complex for people ages 55 and up. The Bri is “seeing great success,”Crawford said, so CenterCal wanted to build its own apartments.
Crawford said he is not sure what rents will be. Rents at Bri, which offers “resort-like services” including a concierge and daily continental breakfasts, range from $1,950 to $3,985 per month for one- or two-bedroom apartments, according to After55.com. Rents at the Regency at River Valley, another luxury complex just north of the Village at 3400 E. River Valley St., range from $1,434 to $3,659 per month for two-bedroom, two-bathroom units, according to Apartments.com.
The Bridge would not have an age restriction, he said.
It would have structured parking and an elevated walkway spanning east Longview Lane to connect the project’s buildings with the Village stores. The Bridge would surpass Meridian’s height requirement for residential buildings, but the City Council agreed that the project warranted an exemption.
There would be a pool, spa, gym, and sports courts located on the upper level of the south building with direct access from the north building, CenterCal said.
“The Bridge is for those seeking a simplified, leisure-based lifestyle that explores the finer things in life,” said Sydney Mintle, spokesperson for CenterCal, in an email. “The Bridge is bringing a new level of amenity-driven lifestyle to the people of Meridian.”
The Bridge apartments is one of several apartment projects coming to the area near The Village in Meridian.
“The expansion will allow The Village to increase its available square footage for new restaurants, retail, and entertainment offerings — making it a win for both residents and the community,” said CenterCal in a news release.
When CenterCal developed The Village, “there was nothing like it in the market” in Idaho, Crawford said.
“We’re not inventing something that’s new,” Crawford said. “We’re just bringing something that works in other markets for the first time to the Boise market.”
CenterCal expects to break ground on The Bridge this spring and has set the opening date for 2025.
This story was originally published February 6, 2023 at 4:00 AM.
