Tall & Urban News

Three different high-rises have been proposed for the Boise metro, but the projects are facing some community pushback.

Vida Properties plans to build a three-structure apartment complex at 510 E. 41st St in Garden City. The tallest of the three buildings would reach 77 meters (252 feet). The Boardwalk Residences, an 18-story, 111-unit condominium building, is part of a more than 66,147-square-meter (712,000-square-foot) development plan. The shorter two buildings, 27 and 19 meters (87 and 61 feet), will include another 272 apartments along with commercial space and parking garages.

Taller than almost all other buildings in the area, community pushback involves the project’s height and a concern over the precedent it would set. The original plan involved a nine-story, 148-room hotel building, which was then revised to condos. Garden City officials are re-evaluating the revised project to determine if it's code compliant. 

Hovde Properties is planning a 19-story apartment building, modeled after another built in Madison in 2015. Located on the northeast corner of Broad and Sixth streets in Boise, Ovation will reach 68 meters (224 feet). With commercial space and parking on the first five floors, the upper 13 will support 209 apartments. In total, the development will be just under 2,787 square meters (30,000 square feet). 

The plans for Ovation are currently being reviewed by city planners. It's unlikely to see any push back from the city on height, because there are no height restrictions in the central business district, where it's proposed.

A few blocks northeast, at 200 N. 4th Street Idaho Central Credit Union with Ball Ventures Ahlquist and Brighton are planning a building where one portion would be 13 stories, which would require the site be rezoned, even though it is a reduction from the originally planned 16 stories. The 23,226-square-meter (250,000-square-foot) building would house an Idaho Central Credit Union branch, medical offices, retail and commercial space, 100 residential units, and a parking garage.

That's all contingent on the project surviving an appeal, led by Eastside Downtown residents who last year formed a coalition, Better Change for East Downtown, to oppose the project. They argue, the height and other design elements of the ICCU Tower don't conform to the rest of the neighborhood. 

The Boise City Council narrowly approved the plans in March, but an appeal is pending.

For more on this story, go to Idaho Press.