Housing for ‘young professionals, families, empty-nesters.’ A planetarium. Coming near you

David Staats, Angela Palermo, Ian Max Stevenson, Rachel Spacek, Michelle Jenkins
·10 min read

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

Boise

Hawkins Cos., a Boise developer, has applied to develop 120 apartments at the northwest corner of Kootenai Street and Federal Way, where the Depot Bench and South Boise Village neighborhoods meet.

The five-story Federal Way and Kootenai apartment building would include “four walk-up units on the ground floor along Pico Street ranging from studios to three-bedrooms, and a 2,000-square-foot commercial space that would house a coffee shop, bakery, café, retail shop, or a use of a similar commercial nature,” said a letter by Ethan Mansfield, Hawkins’ pre-development project manager. Pico Street is a short street that extends north from Kootenai Street on the west side of the site.

The building would be four stories tall along Pico Street and five stories tall along the arterial roadway frontages of Federal Way and Kootenai Street, with 194 parking spaces provided on ground floor. It would occupy lots that now have five addresses: 1101, 1105 and 1109 S. Federal Way, and 2000 and 2100 W. Kootenai St.

Boise State University is about half a mile to the northeast, but students are not the target market for the apartments, Mansfield wrote. The building would be “designed to be rented by young professionals, families, and empty-nesters,” he wrote.

Hawkins Cos., of Boise, proposed to build this 120-apartment building at the northeast corner of Kootenai Street and Federal Way in Boise. This architect’s rendering looks northwest.
Hawkins Cos., of Boise, proposed to build this 120-apartment building at the northeast corner of Kootenai Street and Federal Way in Boise. This architect’s rendering looks northwest.

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Boise’s downtown YMCA is expected to get $4 million in federal funding to help with its redevelopment.

U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, asked for the funds to be earmarked for the project, which involves remaking 2½ blocks between State and Jefferson streets, according to a news release. The funding was included in a federal omnibus bill that became law in December.

“This important project will increase the ability of the YMCA to collaborate more closely with its partners in the health care, education, government and nonprofit sectors,” Simpson said in the release, “to increase its capacity to provide comprehensive solutions for the challenges this growing community faces.”

The new Y would include an indoor track and a community kitchen, according to previous Statesman reporting.

Also in the release, Council Member Patrick Bageant said the rebuilding would “create a real boost in the lives of the tens of thousands of people each year who rely on the YMCA to meet some of their most fundamental needs.”

An architect’s rendering of the proposed new Treasure Valley Family YMCA building in downtown Boise, center. This rendering also shows a 20-story apartment building that would be built behind the YMCA at 10th and Jefferson streets, as part of Edlen & Co.’s proposal to redevelop the area as sought by Boise’s urban renewal agency. Another, smaller apartment building also would be built at right in this image.

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A home builder in Harris Ranch, in Southeast Boise, plans to put up 59 houses near the Boise Foothills.

Boise Hunter Homes has spent more than a decade building homes in the planned community north of the Boise River. Now the City Council is likely to approve the construction of the new homes northeast of the existing subdivisions, according to city planning documents.

As part of the construction, the developers plan to add a trail connecting the Peaceful Valley Overlook Reserve, to the south, to another trail, the Homestead Trail, to the north.

A hearing on the subdivision’s final plat is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, at Boise City Hall.

A view of the planned subdivision, which would include a new trail connecting a reserve to the south with another reserve to the north.
A view of the planned subdivision, which would include a new trail connecting a reserve to the south with another reserve to the north.

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Pathways of Idaho LLC, a mental-health services and treatment foster care provider, has leased 6,721 square feet at 9196 W. Emerald St., Cushman & Wakefield reported.

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Watty Inc., doing business as Scenthound, leased 1,328 square feet of retail space at 6978 W. State St., Colliers reported.

Scenthound is a dog-grooming, cleaning and care franchise. Watty Inc. is a business established in July whose directors are Sean P. Watt, Antonia P. Watt and Gabriella S. Watt, all of Eagle.

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Meridian

A local developer seeks to build apartments two miles west of The Village at Meridian.

Shannon Robnett Industries, a commercial real estate investment company in Boise, requested a conditional use permit to build 150 apartments off East Fairview Avenue near its intersection with North Locust Grove Road.

The complex, called Fairview Apartments, would include 42 one-bedroom units and 108 two- to three-bedroom units along with a swimming pool, among other amenities, according to an application filed with the city. The development would be located at 1005 E. Fairview Ave.

The Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission scheduled a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, April. 20, at City Hall.

The Fairview Apartments would be located at 1005 E. Fairview Ave.
The Fairview Apartments would be located at 1005 E. Fairview Ave.
The apartment complex would include one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
The apartment complex would include one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

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The Children’s Museum of Idaho is preparing to make some changes to its existing building, including adding a planetarium.

The museum, at 790 S. Progress Ave. near Interstate 84, plans to add 4,148 square feet of space to expand the exhibit area and add the planetarium, according to a permit application. The museum also plans to remodel the existing mezzanine.

The Statesman reported on the museum’s expansion plans in February.

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The TreeHouse Learning Center, a preschool, leased 3,952 square feet at 950 N. Hickory Ave., Cushman & Wakefield reported.

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Nampa

Patrick Connor, a developer with Providence Properties, a Meridian development company, wants to build 99 homes on 24 acres near Alma Lane and Happy Valley Road.

Brookhaven would have many different kinds of styles of home in Nampa.
Brookhaven would have many different kinds of styles of home in Nampa.

The Brookhaven subdivision would be located at 4101 Alma Lane. The site is sandwiched between the New York Landing subdivision to the north and Fenway Subdivision on the west, both under construction. Other properties around the development are used for agriculture and residences, the application said.

The development would have a large park in the center and pathways and small parks throughout.

The Brookhaven development would have 99 homes and a large park with pathways.
The Brookhaven development would have 99 homes and a large park with pathways.

The Nampa Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 28 at City Hall.

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Spencer Kofoed, a developer with Tradition Capital Partners LLC, a Middleton development company, wants to build 30 houses near Powerline Road and Lakeshore Drive.

The subdivision, Northshore Estates, would consist of single-family homes, the application said. It would be on 33 acres near other subdivisions and farmland.

“The community will provide quality and diverse housing options to residents of Canyon County,” the application said. ”Residents will enjoy proximity to established communities as well as access to recreational opportunities across the county.”

The Nampa Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 28 at City Hall.

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Idaho Youth Ranch Inc. leased 20,000 square feet of industrial space at 1622 E. Fargo Ave., Cushman & Wakefield reported.

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Utz Quality Foods LLC, a potato-chip and pretzel maker, leased 22,773 square feet at 16693 Madison Road in the Madison Logistics Center, Cushman & Wakefield reported.

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Notable

Bill Connors, president and CEO of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce for 15 years, says he will retire at the end of 2023.

Connors became president in 2009 and led chamber efforts to lower Idaho’s business and personal income tax rates, boost taxpayer support for education, boost air service to and from Boise, and bring Amtrak service back.

Odette Bolano, CEO of Saint Alphonsus Health System, will lead a committee to search for a successor, the chamber said in a news release.

Bill Connors in 2011.
Bill Connors in 2011.

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Micron says it is making progress in its efforts to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in its workforce. Among the examples the company cited in its latest DEI report:

  • “Micron’s female workforce increased globally for the fourth year in a row, now representing 31% of the global workforce and trending ahead of the industry average.

  • “The company’s percentage of women increased for vice presidents, senior leaders and leaders in technical positions around the globe.

  • “More than 22% of the original patent applications that Micron filed in fiscal year 2022 named a woman as an inventor, for a total of 182 female team members — an increase of 10% over FY21.”

  • “Micron also enhanced its focus on the veteran community, with representation increasing for the fourth year in a row to approximately 9% of its U.S. workforce for FY22. Now veterans account for nearly 17% of Micron’s overall workforce in the U.S.”

The Boise company had roughly 49,000 employees worldwide as of December, according to its latest quarterly earnings report, including more than 6,000 people in the Treasure Valley. Micron is the largest for-profit employer in Idaho.

But Micron has laid off workers this quarter in response to deteriorating markets for its memory-chip products, even though it is preparing to build new chip-making plants in Boise and upstate New York, with U.S. taxpayer help. The company said it planned to cut its workforce 10%, which would be about 4,900 of its roughly 49,000 workers worldwide, mostly by the end of February.

It hasn’t said how many jobs have been cut in Boise. The company did not file a mass-layoff notice with the state, which suggests that fewer than 500 Boise-area workers were affected.

The cover of Micron’s 2022 report on diversity, equity and inclusion.
The cover of Micron’s 2022 report on diversity, equity and inclusion.

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You’d think that with the slowdown in new residential and commercial development and the layoffs at big Idaho employers like Micron and St. Luke’s Health System, unemployment would be rising in Idaho.

It’s not. It’s falling.

In the latest indicator of the state economy’s resilience, the state’s jobless rate fell to 2.7% in January, down from the already-low 2.8% in December, the Idaho Department of Labor reported.

Of the 956,839 Idahoans in the labor force, 25,706 were unemployed, Idaho Labor said in a news release. Nonfarm jobs in the Boise area grew 0.5%. Construction jobs statewide rose 2.7%.

The biggest decline in jobs came in arts, entertainment and recreation, down 3.7%.

Is the unemployment rate affecting your getting a job?
Is the unemployment rate affecting your getting a job?

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Intermountain Gas customers will soon have an opportunity to learn more about the utility’s request to raise its rates for natural gas services.

The Boise company, which serves about 404,800 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Southern Idaho, filed an application with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission in December to increase rates by 4.4% for residential customers and 1.5% for commercial customers.

Residential customers of Intermountain Gas would see an average increase of $2.19 on their monthly bills and commercial customers an increase of $3.43.

The PUC, tasked with accepting, rejecting or modifying the request, has scheduled a public workshop at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, at its office at 11331 W. Chinden Blvd., Building 8, Suite 201-A in Boise. Residents can ask questions and learn more about the proposal.

To participate in the workshop by phone, call 1-415-655-0001 and enter meeting number 2461 848 6162. To watch online, visit idahogov.webex.com and enter meeting number 2461 848 6162. The password is BoiseMeeting.

Written comments will be accepted until Wednesday, April 26. Comments must be filed through the PUC’s website or by email.

The company said the primary reason for increasing rates is infrastructure investments its made over the last several years. Intermountain Gas wrote in its application that the request relates to the cost of serving customers and does not include the cost of natural gas, which is about 64% of a customer’s monthly bill.

“We believe the infrastructure investments are prudent to ensure safe and reliable natural gas service to our customers,” Nicole Kivisto, president and CEO of Intermountain Gas, said in the application. “Current prices do not reflect the cost of providing service to our customers, which is why we are requesting this increase.”

A row of natural-gas meters.
A row of natural-gas meters.

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Nampa residents who use irrigation water will face sharply higher fees in the coming irrigation system.

The Nampa City Council voted Feb. 6 to approve an increase of 20%, or just over $30 more per year for the average residential lot, in residential and commercial irrigation water rates, as well as a 20% increase to hook-up fees, beginning March 1, the city said in a news release.

“Customers currently pay a flat fee based on the size of their property lot to access irrigation water, which typically runs mid-April to late September, depending on availability,” the release said.

“The city of Nampa is responsible for 516 miles of irrigation pipe, 24% of which was installed in the 1970s-’80s,” the release said. “Between 2016 and 2021, 102 line breaks occurred. Last year alone, 23 mainline breaks occurred.

“Our current estimates are that 107 miles are near the end of their useful life. While the city of Nampa’s conservative goal is to replace five miles of irrigation pipe annually, over the past three fiscal years, we have only replaced 0.88 miles. Emergency repairs due to deferred maintenance cost significantly more to repair than planned improvements.”

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