‘Most coveted property in Ada County’ to get apartments, retail. Will golf course remain?

For more than 100 years, a golf course has operated north of the Boise River.

A new owner wants to bring housing and restaurants, bars and stores to the course’s edge along State Street, redesigning the more-than 100-acre tract and investing $250 million in the project just as local leaders are focusing on the corridor as a transit, housing and commercial hub.

The golf course, long called the Plantation Country Club and now called the River Club, was purchased by Will Gustafson, of Glass Creek LLC, in 2018, and sold to Lincoln Property, a Texas firm, in June 2022. The course opened in 1917, and is the second-oldest in the state, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting.

Lincoln has an agreement with Gustafson that will leave him in control of the golf course if the development goes forward, Trever Nicoll, a senior vice president at Lincoln, told the Statesman. For now, Gustafson’s new entity, River Club Boise LLC, is leasing the club from Lincoln.

“It is probably the most coveted piece of property in Ada County for development,” Mark Johnson, Lincoln’s liaison with the local neighborhood, told the Statesman. Johnson is a former news anchor at KTVB.

Some kind of redevelopment plan has been in the works for years, causing concern among locals who like living near the course’s expansive lawns and cottonwood trees.

Without the development, Johnson said Gustafson could not pay for the needed renovations and would sell the entire course, and a different developer would likely move to build subdivisions on all of it.

“If this (development) happens, my point to the neighbors is, we keep our lifestyle,” said Johnson, who lives in the neighborhood. “In fact, we increase our lifestyle and increase our property values, because now we’re going to have a golf course that is way better than the one we have right now.”

With the December submittal of an application to reconfigure the property, the coming years could bring townhouses, apartments, ”upscale” retail and multi-use paths to the northern portion of the property that borders State Street.

What does the plan entail?

Lincoln Property plans to develop about 22 acres along the property’s northern edge to accommodate up to 750 housing units, while leaving an 18-hole golf course to the south, according to a letter to Garden City Development Services.

The property is located in Garden City. Across State Street to the north is Boise.

The redeveloped acreage would include “transit-supportive residential development” and a “neighborhood activity hub,” according to the letter. A 10-foot multi-use path would be added along the length of the property on State Street, as would another pathway next to the golf course.

Under Garden City law, developers are urged to submit special development proposals for properties located in planned destination areas. In the city’s Comprehensive Plan, the River Club land along State is part of a future activity center, and thus is eligible for one of these proposals, called specific area plans. Such plans create special zoning requirements for a location like the golf course, which is zoned low-density residential.

Lincoln Property’s application is written in broad strokes. Once a specific area plan is approved, the company would have to apply separately with a development application before construction can begin.

New construction at the site would happen in three phases, with construction proposed to start on each portion in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively, according to a neighborhood presentation the company gave in October.

The company plans to space out each phase by 18-24 months, Nicoll said.

Phase 1: The developer would begin at the northwestern portion of the property, closest to North Glenwood Street, with five acres taken up by a four or five-story apartment building with up to 200 units. Those units could be reserved for residents ages 55 and over. The developer might also include 10,000 feet of space for nonresidential use, according to the letter.

Phase 2: On the central portion of the property, Lincoln Property wants to create the main feature, a mix of large apartment buildings and up to 30,000 square feet of commercial space — either in separate, single-story buildings or on the first floors of apartment buildings — along with walking pathways connecting State Street and a new bus stop next to the retail areas and golf course.

A number of local agencies, including Garden City, Boise, the Ada County Highway District and Valley Regional Transit, have planned for years to transform State Street from a car-centric road to a more densely inhabited, pedestrian-friendly corridor, with enhanced bus service, bike lanes and new commercial and residential development.

The improved bus service would include a concept called “bus rapid transit,” which allows tickets to be purchased outside of the bus, has larger bus stops with electronic boards displaying arrival times, and stops that are more spaced out to increase speed.

While a major bus stop and commercial area is planned at the intersection of State and Glenwood, another bus stop would be at the State Street intersection with Pierce Park Lane, less than a mile to the east and out front of the planned golf course development.

ACHD plans to realign Pierce Park Lane, moving the road just north of the River Club’s new entrance and adding a four-way stop light. The intersection initially would have had three stop lights, but Lincoln will pay to have the golf club’s entrance signalized, too, Gustafson said.

In its application, Lincoln Property said the commercial space could be filled with coffee shops and restaurants, boutique shops, spas, health care centers and other businesses.

The apartments in the central area would be in two C-shaped buildings, each four or five stories high.

Phase 3: In the final phase, the owners would build two more four- or five-story apartment buildings to the east. Between those new buildings and the golf course, Lincoln Property would add two three-story town houses.

The eastern flank would have 45 to 60 housing units, according to the application.

The developer also plans to reconfigure the golf course and add a new pond.

Gustafson has hired Brian Curley, a well-known golf course architect, to redesign the River Club with new water features, a new irrigation system and a reconfigured set of holes. The club is also adding indoor golf simulators, a hitting range, a pool, bocce courts and covered pickleball courts, Johnson said.

The amenities cost about $3 million, and the course’s reconstruction would cost $10 million and close the club for about a year.

The club has 500 members, and a 100-person waiting list, Johnson said. Once the new amenities go in, Gustafson said he will have invested about $9 million in the River Club since buying it.

Gustafson told the Statesman by phone that the residential development is “the lifeblood to keep the golf course going. The golf course is in dire need of upgrading.”

“It shouldn’t be any surprise to anybody that this development is finally coming to fruition,” he said.

Gustafson said he has had offers from residential developers since he bought the course four years ago who would have quickly closed the course.

“I plan on owning this golf course as long as I’m alive,” he said.

In 2021, the course’s owners scrapped a plan to expand the course onto an island in the Boise River. The Garden City Council has committed $20,000 to a pedestrian bridge near 52nd Street, which would connect the northern and southern portions of the Greenbelt to the island, according to the letter.

What do neighbors think?

In comments submitted to Garden City, neighbors complained about the project, saying it would decrease their property values, affect their views, and bring more traffic and noise to State Street. Some neighbors also said the didn’t want to see the removal of trees that are decades old, or the loss of space for wildlife.

“I beg you to stand strong against such a drastic change to our neighborhood,” Robert Bennett, who said he lives nearby, wrote in a Dec. 15 email to Garden City.

“Please help us keep Garden City green,” said another December email, from Dan and Betty Hollar.

Part of the developer’s initial proposal would connect bicycles and pedestrians on State Street to the Greenbelt by routing them through an adjoining cul-de-sac. The company has since updated its plan, and travelers would instead be routed down Plantation River Drive, east of the course.

A hearing before the Garden City Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, at Garden City Hall, 6015 N. Glenwood St. A hearing before the City Council is scheduled for Monday, March 27, at 6 p.m. at the same location. Both meetings can also be watched virtually.