5 apartment complexes. 2 subdivisions. Starbucks, Dutch Bros, Cafe Zupas. Coming near you

The latest proposed developments, housing and other construction projects, and new businesses around Idaho’s Treasure Valley:

Boise

A complex with 138 apartments in Southwest Boise is one step closer to reality after the Boise Planning & Zoning Commission approved a land rezoning and height exception on Aug. 14, despite neighbors asking the commission to deny the request.

The four-story development at 11880 W. Overland Road, located about a mile west of the Country Square Shopping Center, would offer 24 studios, 56 one-bedroom units and 58 two-bedroom units in two apartment buildings.

According to a letter from the Boise landscape architecture and planning firm Rodney Evans + Partners LLC, there is an “exciting mix of office, retail and residential” in the area, with more development filling in.

“If there was ever a place to put a four-story building next to residential, this is probably the spot,” said commission Chair Bob Schafer.

Neighbors attended the meeting to express concerns about traffic flows, the development of the apartment complex on a floodplain, and height requirements.

Amenities on the 3.5 acre site would include a fitness area, club room and lounge, kitchen, indoor bike storage for the 138 units, and a dog park.

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A complex with 78 apartments may be heading to the Bench.

The Boise Planning & Zoning Commission approved a conditional use permit on Aug. 14 for Meridian’s Biltmore Co. to develop a site at 300 N. Orchard St., a few blocks from the Morris Hill Cemetery.

The site was previously occupied by a Stinker Stores convenience store, offices, several small outbuildings and a single-family home.

The developers would demolish the structures to build five buildings. According to design plans from JGT Architecture, of Nampa, the complex would have 31 one-bedroom living units and 47 two-bedroom units.

The complex would include a small playground, gazebo seating area, open space and bicycle parking.

“The current site is an underutilized, largely vacant group of properties with deteriorating paving, brown, single level, simple rectangular buildings, fuel canopies and an advertising billboard,” Jerrod Wallgren of JGT Architecture wrote in a letter accompanying the application. “All of that will be demolished and replaced with three-story attractive apartment buildings and new site amenities and street improvements.”

Wallgren wrote that developers hope the apartments can serve as a catalyst for future development nearby. That area of the Bench has multiple aging commercial buildings that developers say are ill suited for renovation.

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Boise State University may expand its employee housing by building 32 apartments at 2500 W. Boise Ave., according to a pre-application submission to the city.

The two- and three-story apartments would squeeze between the Boise Hare Krishna Temple and the University Village Apartments.

Boise State is considering 26 one-bedroom units and six two-bedroom units with 11 parking spaces on the site and 25 spaces off-site.

The university would need to shift a lot line, as one of the proposed buildings doesn’t meet city setback standards.

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Clifton Trimble of Storhaug Engineering in Spokane, Washington, has requested a list of neighbors to contact for a meeting about 39 apartments proposed at 3515 W. State St., the site of the now-closed Dutch Goose restaurant, east of Veterans Memorial Park.

“The development would be a mix of one- and two-bedroom units, proposed as three four-story buildings,” according to the application.

The Dutch Goose closed in 2020 and was succeeded by the State Street Kitchen & Drinkery , which closed in February, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.

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The Boise City Council approved 48 single-family houses proposed as an infill subdivision in Southwest Boise.

The 13-acre property at 2484 S. Monitor Way would include a new public street, but a previously planned bicycle and pedestrian pathway along the west side of the subdivision has been nixed, because the Ada County Highway District said its construction would not be possible, according to a city staff member.

Instead, the city plans to work with ACHD to build a pathway to connect the subdivision to Maple Grove Road, according to a city planning memo.

The developer is AMH Development LLC, of Calabasas, California.

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A portion of land owned by the Boise Airport may soon house a new fuel farm after a group of airlines asked to rezone 125 acres from a at 5749 S. Production Road.

BoiseFuel LLC, which is made up of multiple airlines that operate at the airport, would construct and own the fuel farm and would lease the land from the city-owned airport. The group’s plans are a part of Blueprint Boise.

“It would greatly increase the capacity that we have on hand,” said Shawna Samuelson, Boise Airport’s marketing and communications manager.

The land is now includes a vacant airfield and has underground fuel transfer lines and a fuel transfer facility, a mineral mining pit and operation and a fire training facility.

The project is still in the design stage, and a budget has not been completed.

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The Vista neighborhood may see a new remodel of the Starbucks kiosk in the local Albertsons supermarket.

Lee Young, a project manager for the architecture firm CSHQA, has submitted an application to remove and remodel the kiosk in Albertsons at 1653 S. Vista Ave., off Overland Road.

The $150,000 project would demolish the existing kiosk and replace it with a new kiosk, millwork and plumbing.

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Meridian

Dutch Bros. wants to build a drive-thru coffee shop at 320 S. Ten Mile Road within the Ten Mile Crossing development, according to a permit filing.

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Cafe Zupas, a fast-casual restaurant chain, is also coming to the Ten Mile Crossing development in south Meridian.

Construction recently began on the new store, according to a news release from developer Ball Ventures. The site is 477 S. Innovation Lane, off Ten Mile Road.

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Nampa

Steven Thueson, of Bountiful, Utah, plans to build 183 single-family houses and eight town houses on 56 acres south of Amity Road and west of Happy Valley Road.

The town houses would be in four buildings, according to the application.

The Nampa City Council unanimously approved the development, called Chisum Estates, on Aug. 7

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PepsiCo Beverages North America plans to open a 109,000-square-foot distribution building at 5350 E. Franklin Road.

The “state-of-the-art facility” was designed with sustainability in mind, according to a news release from the company.

Pepsi is hiring Boise-area employees for jobs in merchandising, delivery, warehouse and sales. Applicants may visit www.pepsifrontlinecareers.com.

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Eagle

Meridian development company Intermountain Pacific LLC plans to build 148 senior housing units on the east side of North Linder Road.

The Linder Senior Living community would consist of 130 senior apartments and 18 independent living cottages. The community would be located on 10.4 acres.

The development would be at 6910 and 6940 North Linder Road, on the east side of Linder about 90 feet south of the intersection of West Temple Drive.

The Eagle City Council approved the development on July 24.

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Garden City

Garden City may get a second Starbucks.

According to a July 7 design review application, the project at 5586 N. Maple Grove Road would consist of a drive-thru only Starbucks with 13 parking spaces and three bicycle spaces.

The project is designed to allow access from Maple Grove and a neighboring property to the east.

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Around Idaho

A national ski-resort company has bought Schweitzer, the North Idaho ski resort in the Selkirk Mountains near Sandpoint and Lake Pend Oreille.

Alterra Mountain Co., of Denver, bought the resort for an undisclosed price from the MKM Trust, which has owned and developed Schweitzer for the past 18 years, Alterra said in a news release.

Tom Chasse will stay on as Schweitzer’s president and chief operating officer, and he will lead the resort’s “extensive” capital-improvement plans, Alterra said.

The trust will “will retain non-ski operations and real estate holdings, and will continue to lead future real estate development projects that support the vibrancy of the Schweitzer community,” the release said.

Schweitzer said it is the largest ski resort in Idaho and Washington, with 2,900 acres of terrain. Alterra said it owns 16 other resorts around North America, including two in Colorado, five in California, and the Deer Valley and Solitude Mountain resorts in Utah.

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Notable

Boise leaders are taking steps to try to make it easier to build affordable housing.

An ordinance change brought to the Boise City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 21, would allow affordable housing developers to defer sewer connection fees to “make such development more feasible,” according to a memorandum from the city’s legal department. The change would require developers to provide “financial assurances” that their development will be affordable.

The city has also moved to allow affordable housing projects to pay impact fees before a building is occupied, rather than when a building permit is issued, which would reduce upfront costs. Another set of fees, called building permit and development fees, could be deferred temporarily or exempted entirely, depending on how many units are designated as affordable, Mayor Lauren McLean’s Housing Advisor Nicki Hellenkamp told the council.

Intermountain Gas customers may soon see a decrease in their gas bills.

The utility company, headquartered in Boise, filed its annual purchased-gas cost-adjustment application with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission on Aug. 14.

The company is requesting to lower its rates by 19.3%, or about $11.96 a month, for residential customers; and 24.4%, or roughly $72.88 a month, for commercial customers. The decrease varies based on weather and usage.

Intermountain Gas said in a news release that it doesn’t earn a profit on the price of natural gas, as its cost is passed straight to customers.

If the decrease is approved, the new rates would take effect Oct. 1.

In December, the company applied for a general rate hike — something it hasn’t asked for since 2016. The PUC issued an order Aug. 8 approving the application, but with significantly lower rate increases than the company initially asked for.

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State utility regulators have scheduled two virtual public workshops to provide information and answer questions about Idaho Power’s application to change the compensation structure for customers with on-site generation, which most commonly means rooftop solar.

The company’s application to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission proposes an adjustment to the export credit rate and a switch from net monthly billing to real-time net billing.

The first workshop is at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6, and the second at noon Thursday, Sept. 7. Visit the PUC’s website for instructions about how to participate in the online meetings.

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