Dream to bring 1,500 homes to South & Southwest Boise still on the table. Here’s the plan

Nick Rosenberger

Anyone who’s lived in Boise for more than 10 years may have noticed a disappearing commodity within city limits: farmland.

As the city has grown, developers have bought up much of a shrinking supply of agrarian land for single-family homes, multistory apartments and town houses, plus commercial development like retail and office space.

Plans by developers to build over 1,200 new homes on one of the largest pieces of untouched farmland left in Boise city limits — a 62-acre chunk of land north of the Boise Airport and the New York Canal — took a step forward Tuesday when Boise City Council moved a proposed rezoning of two adjoining developments another step toward a final vote.

The council previously approved a rezoning for the developments before the new zoning code went live in December. But because they have not yet been built, the council must re-approve it under the new code before they can move forward.

Both developments — Vista Point and Seasons on the Bench — drew opposition from neighbors over traffic and other issues. But both drew praise from Tim Keane, then-director of the city’s Planning and Development Services Department, after developers modified their original plans to address the concerns.

“The two developments that will be happening adjacent to one another on Victory I would argue are the best-designed of anything in the suburbs of Boise,” Keane told the council in January 2023.

The sites of the planned 892-home Vista Point subdivision and its next-door neighbor, the 358-apartment Seasons on the Bench development. Both border West Victory Road to the north and the New York Canal to the south. South Vista Avenue is at left, and Interstate 84 is at the bottom. Residents of Sunrise Rim Road just south of the canal worry that Vista Point’s buildings would diminish their views of the Boise Front to the north. From a filing with the city of Boise

A third development is also planned on Victory and by some of the same developers, but five miles west. Combined, the three developments, would bring over 1,500 new apartments, single-family homes and town houses along Victory in South and Southwest Boise. At Boise’s average household size of 2.33, they would house more than 3,600 people.

1. Vista Point: 893 homes

The nearly 900-home Vista Point development at 2017 W. Victory Road would include 758 apartments: 155 studios, 398 one-bedrooms, 173 two-bedrooms, and 32 three-bedrooms, according to a 2023 master plan. It would have 135 two- to four-bedroom single-family homes.

Plans show several wide open spaces, a pavilion, multiple pedestrian-only streets, a dog park, playground, clubhouse, pool and terraced garden.

An artist’s rendering of a portion of the planned 893-home Vista Point development at 2017 W. Victory Road, looking northeast from the New York Canal. DPZ Design via city of Boise filing
An artist’s rendering of a portion of the planned 893-home Vista Point development at 2017 W. Victory Road, looking northeast from the New York Canal. DPZ Design via city of Boise filing

Plans also show 2,000 square feet of ground floor commercial and retail space and 6,000 square feet of space that could be used for additional commercial uses, offices or amenities, according to the project’s development agreement with the city of Boise.

Two back-to-back five-story, E-shaped apartment buildings would fit in the middle of the property with town houses on each side. Single-family homes would fill the southeastern, eastern and northeastern side of the development.

A proposed site plan for Vista Point shows two back-to-back apartment buildings in the center of the site with town houses on each side. This map shows the height of the buildings, with the darkest color being five-stories and the lightest being one-story. The New York Canal is at bottom and Victory Road is at top. DPZ CoDesign
A proposed site plan for Vista Point shows two back-to-back apartment buildings in the center of the site with town houses on each side. This map shows the height of the buildings, with the darkest color being five-stories and the lightest being one-story. The New York Canal is at bottom and Victory Road is at top. DPZ CoDesign

Layton Construction, based in Utah; and Welltower, a real estate investment trust in Ohio, would build Vista Point, according to prior Idaho Statesman reporting. Calls to Layton Construction and Welltower requesting comment were not returned.

2. Seasons of the Bench: 358 homes

Boise-based Simunich Land owns two parcels to Vista Point’s west, where Las Vegas developer Morgan Stonehill intends to build the proposed Seasons of the Bench development at 2521 W. Victory Road.

Plans call for 358 units of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. They would be divvied among eight three-story and two two-story buildings surrounding interior parking lots.

Proposed amenities include an 8,000-square-foot clubhouse, fitness center, leasing office, pool, spa and a dog park, according to site plans.

Ari Steinberg, managing partner of Morgan Stanley, did not respond to a request for comment.

A view from the north of the Seasons on the Bench development along Victory Road. The New York Canal can be seen in the background. In the green space on the left, to the east of the buildings, another developer has plans to build 800 more apartments. Morgan Stonehill
A view from the north of the Seasons on the Bench development along Victory Road. The New York Canal can be seen in the background. In the green space on the left, to the east of the buildings, another developer has plans to build 800 more apartments. Morgan Stonehill

3. Victory Flats: 301 homes

Layton Construction and Wellpoint also teamed up on a 301-unit development about five miles to the west of Vista Point called Victory Flats, according to prior Statesman reporting.

The 15-acre development at 8373 W. Victory Road would sit in vacant land to the east of Molenaar Park and directly north of West Junior High School and northwest of Frank Church High School.

This aerial rendering looking southwest from May 2023 shows a potential site plan for Victory Flats in center. Frank Church High School can be seen at left, West Junior High School at top left and Victory Road at bottom right.
This aerial rendering looking southwest from May 2023 shows a potential site plan for Victory Flats in center. Frank Church High School can be seen at left, West Junior High School at top left and Victory Road at bottom right.

The city approved a two-year time extension in January for developers to start construction on Victory Flats “due to current economic conditions, including elevated construction costs and scarcity of labor and materials,” according to a city memo.

Despite the economic pains, the development team has continued to move forward and received multiple approvals from the city, submitted permits, paid Idaho Power to extend service to the site, worked with Veolia for water and the Ada County Highway District on traffic, according to the memo.

Plans for Victory Flats call for 29 town house and apartment buildings and a central clubhouse and leasing office. The town houses would include two- and three-bedroom options, while the apartments would range from studios to three-bedroom units.

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