New ‘affordable’ apartments near downtown Boise now leasing. Cafe Rio. Coming near you

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

Boise

Want to live in an apartment that the city of Boise considers affordable housing? A new, small apartment building just west of downtown Boise might be for you.

The 48-unit building, named The Martha, at 1721 W. Idaho St. is expected to open in April and began preleasing in January, according to the Capital City Development Corp., Boise’s urban renewal agency.

Rents at the two- and three-story building will be what the city deems affordable for tenants who earn between 80% to 120% of what Boise lists as median income, says CCDC, which bought the land and fostered its development in 2020 as Boise rents were skyrocketing.

The developers — a partnership of SMR Development, deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co. — agreed to cap the rents at Boise’s official affordable levels for eight years.

At least one of the 48 apartments will serve a family earning no more than 60% of the city’s median income, and another will be reserved for another family in that same income bracket or that is on a local nonprofit voucher program, according to CCDC.

What is Boise’s median income? It varies depending on household size. What is exactly does the city deem affordable? That varies too, and it’s generally 30% of the household’s median gross income. The maximums are in this table. Incomes are annual, rents monthly:

Median rents in Boise are now $1,105 per month for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,304 for a two-bedroom, according to Apartment List, a national listing service. Downtown rents are typically higher, especially in newer buildings.

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A proposed organic, closed-loop hydroponics farm is moving ahead in Southeast Boise.

Riya LLC’s Food Production Facility would aim to grow food in a greenhouse with hydroponics — which use nutrient-enriched water rather than soil — alongside aquaculture, or fish farming. The farm would reuse the fish waste as a fertilizer for the plants, according to a development filing with the city.

“A primary feature of the project is development of water management technology that enables efficient reuse of the effluent from recirculating aquaculture for use as a fertilizer source for hydroponics,” a filing said, “thereby facilitating high quality, organic vegetable production with very low water usage and minimum waste.”

To allow the project at 7050 S. Federal Way, the city would have to annex 4 acres.

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Kelly Beiser with LKV Architects has applied for a permit for a two-story addition to Collister Elementary School, 4426 W. Catalpa Drive, east of Collister Drive and south of the Boise City Canal.

The permit calls for the construction of “14,249-square-foot addition to the existing Collister Elementary School that will feature six classrooms, one resource classroom, a library, a cafeteria, administration space, and a gymnasium,” according to the application.

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Plans are moving forward with 35 apartments at 2408 S. Broadway Ave. in Southeast Boise.

The Veazey Park Apartments would feature two, three-story buildings, according to the application.

The Idaho Statesman reported previously that Kyle Sales of Beegawk LLC in Coeur d’Alene is the developer.

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Neighbors near Warm Springs Avenue want the developer of 33 town houses to build trees along the road to reduce vehicle speeds in Southeast Boise.

The Woven Subdivision at 6776 E. Warm Springs Ave, would have two- and three-story town houses, according to David Moser, a city planner.

At a City Council meeting on Tuesday, March 8, the Barber Valley Neighborhood Association objected to the location’s streetscape plans, which Gary Veasy, the association’s secretary, said had changed since a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing in January.

While the developer had initially indicated it would put large trees along the roadway between Warm Springs and the sidewalk, those trees would have had to be pushed farther away from the road because of power lines and underground utilities, according to Nicolette Womack, a planner at Kimley-Horne, a consulting firm.

Council Member Elaine Clegg added a requirement that the developer, Gravitas Real Estate Holdings LLC, come up with a plan to use some kind of vegetation between the roadway and the sidewalk. The council preliminarily approved the subdivision.

Meridian

Two developers, one in Idaho and one in Washington state, say they plan to build 2.8 million square feet of industrial space across the Treasure Valley. Three-fourths of it would be on a site in western Meridian that will include a medical-supply warehouse for the St. Luke’s Health System.

Sawtooth Development Group, of Ketchum, and AT Industrial, of Spokane Valley, Washington, say they plan to start construction on the warehouse in the second quarter of 2023 at 703 S. Black Cat Road, near Interstate 84 and a mile east of the Idaho 16 extension now under construction that will connect with the freeway.

“The Meridian Business Center will bring much-needed industrial space to Meridian and the Treasure Valley region at a time of explosive growth and historical lack of availability in this submarket,” said Tim Wolfe, managing partner of AT Industrial, in a news release.

St. Luke’s said the warehouse would help it serve patients more efficiently by reducing the impact of supply-chain disruptions.

“We began looking at this possibility years before the pandemic, which only underscored the importance of St. Luke’s strengthening its ability to control acquisition and distribution of health care supplies,” said Adrian Wenger, St. Luke’s supply-chain vice president, in the release.

The 120-acre Meridian Business Center will have up to nine buildings and an estimated price tag of $350 million, a public relations representative told the Idaho Statesman by email.

The remaining sites owned by the partnership, known as ATSaw, are in Nampa, Boise and Caldwell, the representative said. Sawtooth’s website says its planned projects include:

• The Nampa Business Center, a two-building, $80 million, 650,000-square-foot development on 17 acres north of I-84 at the southeast corner of Franklin and McDermott roads.

• The Airport Business Center, a four-building, $160 million, 1.48 million square feet development along Lake Hazel Road near the Boise Airport.

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Potlatch No. 1 Financial Credit Union, or P1FCU, is preparing to construct a 3,500-square-foot credit union building at 4621 S. Eagle Road, according to a permit application filed with the city.

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U-Haul Moving & Storage is moving forward with plans for a 124,000-square-foot storage center at 1030 W. Franklin Road, with an “emergency access” limitation on the site’s primary access point.

The Meridian City Council denied an appeal from Hillside Architecture, which is representing the developer, of the city Community Development Department’s decision to limit access to Franklin Road from the center’s Building B to emergency vehicles only, according to a filing on the city’s website. A public hearing on the matter was held Feb. 14 at City Hall.

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Challenger Development Inc., a Corey Barton development company, wants to add apartments to its Delano Subdivision on the west side of Eagle Road.

Barton wants to build 84 apartments on 3.5 acres at 3850 N. Centrepoint Way. The complex would consist of four buildings and a club house.

The apartment buildings would be three stories tall, according to the application. They would have 36 one-bedroom, one bathroom units; and 48 two-bedroom, two-bathroom units.

The apartments would be located west of Eagle Road and south of West Wainwright Road.

The neighborhood has faced parking complaints and issues, according to both the application and Idaho Statesman reporting. Barton plans to have two parking spaces per unit, according to the application, 168 spaces in all.

The Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hear the proposal at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at City Hall.

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Noodles and Co. plans to open a new drive-thru restaurant near the northeast corner of Ten Mile and McMillan roads.

The 2,200-square-foot “quick serve” restaurant would be located at 3103 W. Milano Drive, according to the application.

The Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hear the proposal at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at City Hall.

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KeyBank seeks to construct a branch with a drive-thru ATM and autoteller at 3485 W. Chinden Blvd., near the intersection of North Ten Mile Road and West Chinden Boulevard.

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Bradley Smith, of Ball Ventures Ahlquist Development, applied for a permit to build a two-story, 32,000-square-foot retail and commercial building at 130 E. Victory Road near the corner of Meridian and East Victory roads.

Eagle

Primary Health Medical Group in Eagle has moved into a new building near the intersection of State Street and Edgewood Lane, according to a news release from the medical group. The Boise-based medical group operates 23 clinics.

The clinic, now at 1895 E. McGrath Road, has 11 exam rooms, an X-ray suite, trauma room, lab and procedure room. The location’s services include walk-in urgent care and work injury care, as well as sports medicine and family medicine by appointment.

“Our new clinic has made it possible for us to bring in additional providers, making care accessible to more patients,” said Primary Health Medical Group CEO Dan Reed, a family physician.

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Nampa

Lactalis American Group is selling fresh dairy products to the public from its on-site Cultured by Lactalis cheese store in Nampa.

The store, previously accessible only to Lactalis employees, is open from noon to 6 p.m. every Friday at 4912 E. Franklin Road, according to a news release. Sales are by credit card only.

The store includes a “Made in Nampa” section, where customers can find a variety of shredded and fresh mozzarella products, along with mascarpone that’s made on site. Other cheese varieties produced at Lactalis’s North American plants are also available.

“We’re very proud of the cheese we make here at the Lactalis Nampa facility and have been looking for ways to expand how we share the tastiest, freshest cheese with our customers,” said Olivier Delobbe, site director, in the release.

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Star

Café Rio Mexican Grill, a fast-casual restaurant chain, leased a 2,800-square-foot space at Star Town Center, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

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Notable

For the first time in close to 60 years, Boise is getting closer to remaking its zoning code, a set of laws that govern what kinds of homes, buildings, and other developments are allowed across the city.

The city has been working on the project for years, and a final draft is scheduled to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission beginning at 4 p.m. Monday, April 24, at City Hall. The commission will have a hearing on the topic on four consecutive nights, with Tuesday’s through Thursday’s beginning at 5 p.m. Each session is expected to last until 10 p.m., according to the schedule.

Some locals have mobilized against the plans, arguing they will change the character of the city’s neighborhoods.

After the Commission, the City Council expects to hold its own public hearing on the new laws in June, with final adoption to follow.

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