CWI tries again to develop Boise campus by the river — this time without asking voters
The commute to class could soon become shorter for some College of Western Idaho students as the college prepares to build a campus in downtown Boise.
In April, board trustee members unanimously approved a proposal to consolidate CWI into two primary locations in Nampa and Boise.
The college’s plans for its Nampa location are to develop a new health and science building, relocate its horticulture program and build a student learning center to offer more student-support services.
Meanwhile, the Boise site is the college’s first property it owns in Ada County. The college leases five buildings across the city to host its courses.
The college bought the 10-acre Boise lot in 2015 for $8.8 million with plans to develop a campus. In a close vote, a $180 million bond issue in 2016 for a three-building campus narrowly failed to garner the 55% majority needed.
Seven years later, CWI trustees are in the process of choosing a developer.
“CWI spent more than a year exploring campus visioning with the college’s board of trustees and stakeholders in the community,” spokesperson Ashley Smith told the Idaho Statesman in a message. “Following that process, CWI’s strategic direction includes the development of the Boise property at Main Street and Whitewater Park Boulevard — providing the opportunity for the college to reduce leased spaces.”
The college’s new plans do not require a bond issue, which requires an election in Idaho to authorize going into debt. Instead, CWI plans to raise money by selling certificates of participation to investors.
Known as COPs, the tax-exempt certificates are alternatives to bonds. CWI would lease its newly constructed building, then the college would appropriate money annually to make lease payments to the investors until the certificates are paid off and CWI takes full control of the buildings.
Money from donations, CWI’s development fund, and the state would help pay for the campus.
The college does not have an estimate for construction costs in Boise, but it will know its costs after design and bidding between developers is complete, Smith said.
During the 2023 fiscal year, CWI is receiving nearly $40 million in state funds and property taxes, making up almost half of its annual budget of about $79 million.
The Boise site is located along the Greenbelt at Main Street and Whitewater Park Boulevard. It was previously home to the Bob Rice Ford car dealership until 2013, when the building was demolished.
According to the CWI website, the college’s current locations in Ada County are leased and provide “short-term solutions” to a high educational demand for students. CWI data shows that more than 50% of CWI students reside in Ada County, and more than 7,000 students attend classes based in the leased facilities in Boise.
The website said developing a CWI campus in Boise addresses the need for classroom space and will provide a campus closer to home for many students.
The need for a community college in the Treasure Valley
Boise was the last metropolitan area in the country without a community college until 2007, when Ada and Canyon county voters passed a referendum to establish a community college district.
Before voters passed the referendum, the closest two-year public college in the area was Treasure Valley Community College, based in Oregon, with one Idaho office in downtown Caldwell that offers professional-technical and other courses.
CWI first opens its doors to nearly 1,200 students in 2009. That number has grown to about 30,200 students in 2022, making it the largest community college in Idaho.
About 8% of CWI students are enrolled full-time. The other 92% are enrolled part-time, and most are high school students enrolled in dual-credit courses for which they receive college credit.
According to the its website, CWI offers the lowest tuition in the Treasure Valley. One year of tuition costs about $3,300 for an in-district student , and $4,300 for an out-of-district student.
Other colleges in the Treasure Valley offer limited options for two-year degrees. Among them:
- Boise State University previously offered two-year associate degrees for career technical programs, but that program ended in 2009, and instead CWI started to offer those technical programs. According to Mike Keckler, the spokesperson for the State Board of Education, Boise State now offers associate degrees only in general studies.
- Idaho State University in Meridian offers associate degrees in business, paramedic science and health information technology, among others.
- Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa offers associate degrees in business, education, Christian studies, liberal studies and accounting.
What to expect from the new campus? CWI president talks
CWI President Gordon Jones told the Statesman that the Boise campus would focus on students studying business, technology and cyber studies.
“In Nampa, we do health care, horticulture and agriculture,” Jones said in an interview. “We do academic classes for people that want to be juniors in college, and we’ve got career technical education. So the theme here in Boise is business, IT and cyber.”
The college is in its final stages of choosing a developer, he said. In January, the college selected four developers as finalists and has plans to name the winning developer by fall. According to the college website, developers must present their architectural designs to the board, including parking and plans for future expansion. Designs should also encourage “positive public use” of the campus’s location by the Greenbelt.
Jones said he expects to begin construction in the fall, with the fall of 2025 as the target date for classes to begin at the new campus.
“You’re going to see space for students that allows them to activate their learning with very modern facilities,” he said.
This story was originally published February 24, 2023 at 4:00 AM.
