Construction of this 19-story Boise building has been delayed twice. What happened?

The proposed 19-story building that would change Boise’s skyline is already well behind schedule. Will it rise skyward? That’s up in the air.

Hovde Properties, a development company based in Madison, Wisconsin, “continues to work on our construction drawing” for the Ovation building on the east side of 6th Street between Front and Broad streets, President Randy Guenther said in an email to the Idaho Statesman.

When the building was initially proposed in June 2021, Guenther wrote a letter to the city of Boise saying construction was anticipated to begin that fall and be completed by summer 2023. More than a year since the letter was written, construction hasn’t started.

Guenther said he anticipates completing the drawings this summer.

“A project of this scale and construction type is very complicated and requires very in-depth coordination with our partners,” Guenther wrote in his email to the Statesman. “As with all construction projects these days, costs have significantly risen, and cost increases/material availabilities are happening in an unpredictable way, which we are also monitoring on a daily basis. Ultimately our start date will be driven by when the project can be delivered, and we will have a better handle on that once we finish our drawings and finalize our construction contracts with those final plans.”

The building, at 521 W. Front St., was originally planned to have 209 apartments, 209 parking spaces, “breathtaking views, top-tier amenities and active street-level commercial space,” according to a letter Guenther wrote to the city last year. Hovde planned to spend more than $60 million to build it.

It was planned to be 231 feet tall, according to an application filed with the city. That would make it the third tallest building in Boise, according to Emporis, which compiles building heights worldwide. Only Eighth & Main and U.S. Bank Plaza, standing at 323 feet tall and 267 feet tall, respectively, are taller.

Hovde’s original design included a parking garage entrance and exit on Broad Street. Since Boise wants Broad to be a “festival street,” city officials appealed the Ada County Highway District’s approval of that location for garage access. ACHD has the final say where garage entrances and exits can be located.

Eventually, a compromise was reached, with a one-way garage entrance on Broad Street and a one-way exit on 6th Street. In early December, Boise’s Design Review Committee voted to approve the Ovation building with conditions of approval.

By December, Guenther had shifted his desired timeline to begin construction to June 2022, with completion by spring 2024, according to previous Statesman reporting. At the time, he said a redesign would cost several hundred thousand dollars.

In recent weeks, several developers have said increasing construction costs and interest rates have caused them to reevaluate projects and their timelines, depending on how costs add up.

Gardner Co.’s five-story apartment building near Boise State University, Pacific Cos.’ proposed 201-unit affordable apartment building on the Boise Bench, and Swanby Investment Group’s potential six-story building near the state Capitol are all dealing with similarly challenging market conditions.

After Boise’s Design Review Committee approved the Ovation building in December, a letter from the city to Hovde said the company had 24 months to begin construction or the approval would be rescinded. There’s still a year and a half before that may happen. But the potential timeline for the building has already been pushed back twice.

“Ultimately there is no real change in our plans,” Guenther wrote, “and we are continuing our process while navigating the difficult construction environment everyone is experiencing. We remain committed to what will be a landmark development in Boise.”