It’s been a rollercoaster ride for The Boardwalk, a mixed-use project on the banks of the Boise River in Garden City.
First, it was an apartment-hotel hybrid. Then the project changed to just apartments. An 18-story tower planned as part of the project was denied by the city council, then that decision was reversed. Now, part of the Boardwalk is rising above the greenbelt in Garden City.
The first two phases of the project include building The Boardwalk Apartments, which will total $80 million in value. All of the apartments are expected to be ready for residents to move in by the end of the year. Other projects separate from the apartments, like the commercial space and 18-story tower, are planned in additional phases scheduled to be completed over the next five to seven years.
After that, the developer, Vida Properties, says it will pivot to completing other buildings within its envisioned “district.” The company has been working with Erstad Architects and Andersen Construction on the project.
The Boardwalk is located at 521 East 41st Street. This part of Garden City has been rapidly redeveloping from mobile home parks providing affordable housing to vulnerable populations to high-rise, mixed-use buildings over the past decade.
“We’re looking to kind of reinvigorate this area for people to come and enjoy,” Talbott said.
BoiseDev got a tour of the construction site to learn more about the high-profile development’s progress.
High demand for Boardwalk apartments
The south building of the apartments, which makes up phase one of the two-phase project, is completed and just a few units shy of being leased up, according to Vida Properties Director of Operations Nathan Talbott.
Phase two, which consists of the north and west buildings containing all of the amenities and retail space is set to be complete by the end of December. The completed complex will have an assortment of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and studio apartments.
When phase two is complete, the apartments will feature a tenant-exclusive rooftop with three hot tubs and multiple fire pits, a fitness center with an open-air patio for yoga, a game room, and a theater room. Studio apartments on the fourth floor of the west building will have private rooftops. Apartments on the fifth floor of the north building feature 650 square foot balconies.
Timeline on 18-story tower unknown
The possibility of an 18-story tower far from downtown Boise raised eyebrows when it first went through the hearing process two years ago.
Construction hasn’t started on the tower and the Garden City Planning and Zoning Department says Vida Properties hasn’t filed a building permit for this part of the project yet. Talbott told BoiseDev the company’s plans for if it will be made up of apartments or condominiums, like originally proposed, is “fluid.”
Right now, the site is temporarily being used as a parking lot. Talbott said construction of the tower needs to be timed appropriately with the completion of other parking spaces for the project. He said starting the tower too early could lead to some tenants having a difficult time finding spaces to park and it could limit how much public parking is available in the area for visitors.
What will this mean for the Greenbelt?
Talbott said the vision for The Boardwalk is to be a destination site on the Greenbelt.
The portion of the project that faces the Greenbelt will be an open and public space featuring six commercial storefronts for local food and beverage companies. None of the spaces have been leased out so far. There will also be walk-up bars, sand pits, and tables and chairs for the public to use.
Vida Properties also donated 8 feet of space to widen the Greenbelt with concrete instead of asphalt in front of The Boardwalk. Talbott said a pier that goes out to the river is also in the works for the property.
Another project undertaken by the developer is a clean-up along the riverfront. Talbott said the company went in and removed dead cottonwoods and non-native plant species from the area between the Greenbelt and the river. He said the goal was to remove the hazard of dead trees falling, open up the view of the river, mitigate fire hazards, and discourage members of the homeless community from camping near the Boardwalk.
Talbott said Vida Properties is also looking to create a 501 C3 non-profit in an effort to remove the non-native plants from the entirety of the Garden City portion of the Boise River Greenbelt.
