Affordable apartments in Meridian. Coming near you. Plus: How developers are pulling back

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

Boise

The Boise City Council says it will reconsider 130 apartments that it just approved along River Street near downtown.

The council approved the apartments in a six-story building at 672 S. Ash St. unanimously on Feb. 14, with conditions that the development include at least 13 affordable apartments. The presence of those units was tied to funding from the city’s urban renewal district, the Capital City Development Corp.

When they approved the development, council members talked about the benefits high-density housing would bring to the area.

On Tuesday, Feb. 28, council members voted to reconsider their decision in April, because of new information.

“The new information is that the consideration for affordable units had not been reviewed by CCDC, and there’s no assurance that those would go forward,” Council Member Elaine Clegg said.

The apartments would replace 16 aging apartments that cost less than usual market rents and would be torn down to build the new development. The 13 new units would offset part of that loss of affordable housing.

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Plans are moving forward with a 354 apartments at 2521 W. Victory Road named Seasons on the Bench.

The development is would be built on an 18-acre parcel owned by J. Andrew Mehl, manager of Simunich Land.

The development would feature “eight three-story and two two-story buildings with concealed surface parking and garages,” as well as a “centrally-located amenity complex with an 8,000-square-foot clubhouse, fitness and leasing center with resort-style pool and spa,” according to the application. There would also be a dog park and places for a dog wash and for bicycle maintenance and repair.

Morgan Stonehill LLC, of Las Vegas and Denver, is the developer.

The City Council approved the development in January.

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MVRK Development, of Denver, seeks to rezone 3.5 acres to allow construction of 138 apartments at 11880 W. Overland Road in Southwest Boise.

The apartments would be named Ascent Overland. The land is owned by Danny Bosworth, according to the application.

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State Street commuters may have noticed a set of new residential buildings going up on the north side of the street, east of Pierce Park Lane and across from the golf course at the River Club, formerly the Plantation Country Club.

The buildings are 74 apartments at 6430 and 6266 W. State St. being developed by the Gardner Cos. of Salt Lake City.

A developer’s representative applied Feb. 8 for city permits to build carports to cover tenants’ vehicles.

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Meghan Przybylski , of the city of Boise, has requested a list of neighbors to contact for a meeting about a proposed new fire station, Station 13, at 6124 N. Bogart Lane, north of West State St. in Northwest Boise.

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Helmut Yurke, KM Engineering, has filed a request for a permit to an Ultra Clean Car Wash at 8924 W. Franklin Road, east of Maple Grove Road.

Plans call for a “6,768-square-foot car wash building with 29 drying stalls to accommodate vacuums for customers, three standard stalls for employees and one ADA stall,” according to the application.

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Craig Chagnon, of Crown Castle in Eaglewood, Colorado, requested a permit to install a Verizon Wireless 19-foot tower extension at 2901 W. State St., near Veterans Park.

According to the application, the project would include the installation of 12 antennas, nine radios, four cables, three T-arm mounts, three cabinets, two concrete equipment pads, one generator, one utility frame, battery backup units, and a new fence.

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The Boise Cooperative Preschool plans to relocate.

In a filing, the preschool said it has been operating inside the Trinity Fellowship Church, 300 N. Latah St., for 20 years. The building has been sold, so the preschool intends to remain until the end of May and to reopen after Labor Day in the River Valley Church, 1115 N. Garden St.

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Avianne International, a business owned by Engela Wilson that operates the Avianne International Art Gallery at 1883 N. Wildwood St., Suite M, has leased 1,142 square feet in the Orchard Rim Retail Center at 2404 S. Orchard St., Cushman & Wakefield reported.

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Meridian

The city has approved plans from the nonprofit The Housing Co., a creation of the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, to build 52 affordable apartments in eight two-story buildings on the north side of Ustick Road near the east side of Linder Road.

The Wood Rose Apartments would be located at 1160 W. Ustick Road. They would and target people with incomes below 60% of the area median income.

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Benjamin Kneader, a developer with Quarterhorse Lane LLC in Boise, wants to build 24 single-family houses on five acres on the southeast corner of West Pine Street and Black Cat Road.

The Meridian City Council is scheduled to hear the proposal at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, at City Hall.

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West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell plans to construct a one-story emergency department at 5775 W. Chinden Blvd., according to a permit application filed with the city.

The 11,200-square-foot building would include 10 exam rooms, one resuscitation room and other support spaces.

The project is valued at $13 million, an email from BuildZoom said.

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Terry Reilly Health Services has leased 6,385 square feet of commercial space at 3115 E. Florence Drive, Intermountain Commercial Real Estate reports.

The nonprofit Treasure Valley network of federally funded community health clinics offers medical, dental and behavioral health services on a sliding scale intended to be affordable to everyone.

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Costco has asked the city of Meridian for permission to modify delivery hours and business hours at its warehouse at 3403 W. Chinden Blvd.

An agreement between Costco and the city in 2018 specified that no deliveries should take place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Costco wants the time frame to be modified to 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. to “improve warehouse logistics and ease on-site congestion,” according to the proposal.

The wholesaler is also asking the city to modify its business hours of operation. The current agreement establishes its hours of operation from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Costco wants to make them 3 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Costco said the changes would not increase the volume of traffic to the site or generate excessive noise.

It also said the modified delivery hours would allows trucks to deliver goods when they arrive, rather than wait in a queue during restricted hours. According to Costco, the congestion puts added pressure on the warehouse staff to finish deliveries by the evening cutoff so trucks don’t have to wait overnight, and to work faster than normal in the mornings to clear the backlog.

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

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A new Dutch Bros on the southwest corner of Eagle and Ustick roads is in the works after the Meridian City Council approved the proposal at a meeting Tuesday, Feb. 14.

The new coffee shop is planned to have 1,154 square feet and two drive-thrus on 1.2 acres, the application said.

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Jeff Likes, of ALC Architecture, applied for a permit to construct a new building for Dollar Tree at 1940 S. Meridian Road, according to a permit application filed with the city.

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Eyemart Express, a retailer of prescription eyeglasses, has opened its first store in Meridian.

The store, at 6252 N. Linder Road, opened Feb. 20 and will employ about a dozen full- and part-time workers as sales associates, lab technicians and opticians, according to an email from Holly House Marketing.

Eyemart Express has five other locations in Idaho, in Boise, Nampa, Idaho Falls, Chubbuck and Twin Falls.

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Take 5 Oil Change wants to build a three-bay drive-thru oil change station at 3158 W. Quintale Drive, according to a permit application filed with the city.

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Dr. Dustin Portela of Treasure Valley Dermatology has opened a 6,000-square-foot dermatology clinic at 2535 E. Fairview Ave.

The practice has three additional locations, one each in Meridian, Boise and Caldwell, the company said in a news release.

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Nampa

Adam and Canada Bayne, homeowners at 3809 Greenhurst Road, want to turn their 3.3 acre lot into a site for 25 town houses.

The couple lives in a three-bedroom home and plan to eventually move to a larger home after their development is completed, Adam Bayne said during the public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

The Ladybird Landing town houses would be located near the traffic circle at Greenhurst Road and Happy Valley Road. The development would include a park with a playground and gazebo.

The couple worked with their neighbors on the project, and two of them testified during the hearing, in favor.

The Baynes decided to name the subdivision Ladybird because it is the name of the family’s first dog. Adam Bayne said they would love their children to someday drive past Ladybird Landing and remember the family’s dog.

The six-member City Council voted unanimously to approve Ladybird Landing.

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Shannon Ely, of Baron Properties, a developer in Denver, wants to build five commercial buildings on 18 acres south of Franklin Road and east of Star Road.

The five buildings would be a mix of commercial and warehouses, the application said.

The Nampa Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hear the proposal at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 14 at City Hall.

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Middleton

Michael Baird, a Middleton resident, wants to build four commercial buildings on Hartley Lane.

The commercial buildings are part of a project called the Square on Hartley. The buildings and 196 parking spaces would be on 4.5 acres at the south end of Hartley Lane, south of Idaho 44.

The Middleton City Council is scheduled to hear the proposal at 5:30 on Wednesday, March 15, at 1103 W. Main St.

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Around Idaho

A beef-packing plant under construction in the Magic Valley is hiring workers.

The True West Beef plant at 6026 U.S. 93 in Jerome is jointly owned by Boise’s Agri Beef and cattle ranchers and feeders.

It will employ about 400 people, with an annual payroll of $21 million, and initially will process 500 cattle a day, the Capital Press reported in July 2020.

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Notable

Idaho had 39,000 labor union members in 2022, accounting for 4.7% of wage and salary workers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says.

The percentage was unchanged from 2021, and it is less than half of the 10.1% nationwide.

Union membership in Idaho has been below the U.S average since state data became available in 1989, the agency said. Idaho’s percentage peaked at 10.2% in 1993 and reached its lowest share, 4.7%, in 2013, 2018, 2021 and 2022.

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A new report from a Boise commercial real estate agency sheds more light on the pullback by developers and homebuilders after the housing bubble burst nearly a year ago and worries about recession rose.

Highlights from TOK Commercial’s latest quarterly land report include:

• Home sales fell about 20% in 2022, the biggest decline in yearly sales since the housing crisis in 2008.

• The number of construction permits issued in 2022 for single-family houses fell 35% in the Treasure Valley in 2022, to 4,800, as builders sought to keep excess inventory under control.

• Purchases of land for apartments fell 80% even as the number of new apartments rose more than 60% from 2021 levels to 4,600. Nearly half of the new apartments were in Meridian.

• Industrial land made up 76% of all commercial land sold.

• Nampa is a hot spot of industrial development. Of all commercial-construction permits issued in Canyon County in 2022, all but one were in Nampa.

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