Does anyone know if Zions Bank will still keep the space they currently have in the Alexander Building? That is a really nice historic building and hopefully will have a more exciting use if they vacate...like a restaurant, clothing store, art gallery.

They do that up there too huh? Completely under utilize amazing space.

I'm guessing that they'll vacate that space and move into the Highrise after it's completed. But that's only a guess so i'm not sure. As i remember that spot use to be a jewelry store before zions bank moved there. So hopefully they'll end up with a restaurant like you said Cottonwood. That would be nice.

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per the article the official floor count is still pending..........



http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/0...ghth-main.html

Gardner Co. closes on Eighth & Main property in Boise

By Sandra Forester — sforester@idahostatesman.com
Posted: 1:53pm on Feb 29, 2012; Modified: 2:01pm on Feb 29, 2012



Gardner Co. closed Wednesday on the northwest corner of 8th and Main streets in Downtown Boise, according to J. Thomas Ahlquist, chief operating officer of the Meridian development company.

Gardner plans a groundbreaking ceremony March 19 and will begin construction that day on the property, which it bought for $2.9 million from Capps Holding LLC, he said.

The building's tenants will be announced at the ceremony, Ahlquist said.

Glad to see the hole finally being fiilled... I don't think anyone in this city will really be convinced until this building is complete lol... Too many bad memories and broken promises... The last time a building stood at the site I was 4 months old.

I still have memories of my dad, granddad, and uncle taking me down there early in the morning to watch the final pieces of the Eastman Building come down when I was 6.

It's so easy to forget the magnitude of this project. It's going to be the first building since the Grove Hotel in 1998 to truly redefine our skyline. Boise is going to have a whole new face when this and JUMP are built, and it's going to be tremendously exciting to watch!! :D

I will most certainly be at the groundbreaking ceremony!

Based on the "up to 18 stories" quote, I would be surprised if it came out to be 20. The official floor count isn't released yet and we're fewer than 19 days to groundbreaking??? Oh well, I won't dwell on it. I would've been happy with the original 15 back when it was first announced. What a great addition to the city.

I'm curious to know why they still haven't released the official floor count. I know that they said they're still waiting on tenants, but wouldn't they have gotten some by now? It doesn't make sense that they'd wait this long on releasing something like that. But 18 floors, or 20 floors it'll still be one heck of a beauty in our skyline.

Doing a few estimates if the tower is 18 floors, it will still be the new tallest. The fact that the first level is retail and the rest of the base is parking, I come up with a 280' tower at 18 floors. At 20 floors it comes out to 308'. 17 floors comes out to 267'. The very minimum at 15 floors is 240'.

All in all, no matter how many floors the developers decide on, the Boise skyline will drastically change with the addition of this tower. :cheers:

Thanks for the Estimates GrandeTeton!

Still no word on floor count yet?!

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/0...r-tenants.html

Developer: Proposed Boise Pit building filling up
http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/Prop...142557915.html

By KBOI Web Staff Published: Mar 13, 2012 at 5:58 PM MDT

BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) - The two companies that have partnered to build an office building on the corner of Eighth and Main Streets in downtown Boise now say they have five new tenants signed up to lease space.

Last year, Meridian based Gardner Company and Zions Bank announced they were planning to build a 15 story office and retail building at the site of the infamous Boise Pit.

The Pit or Hole is the common name for the unfinished Boise Tower project that has sat dormant for years at the intersection.

Zions Bank plans to move its Idaho headquarters into the building.

The companies say in a press release that five new tenants have secured leases in the building.

They are:

- Holland & Hart LLP

- Ruth's Chris Steak House

- CTA Architects Engineers

- First American Title Company

- Idaho Technology Council


Gardner also says that because of the new tenants, the plan for the building has changed to add a 16th floor.
The company says with the five new tenants, 140,000 of the building's 268,000 total square feet of office space is now leased.

Construction is expected to begin this spring and be completed in 2014.


So, 16 floors :(, but its still one heck of a good looking tower. Congrats:banana:

Maybe slightly disappointing, but I'm not heartbroken at all. The thing that absolutely thrills me about this development and other recent projects like River 8 is that they are so pedestrian friendly, it really preserves what I love about downtown.

Probably about over a year ago at this point I expressed a lot of concern about whatever new building would go in this lot, no matter what I would rather have a architecturally beautiful 10-story building that preserved the awesome environment created by 8th street than have an architecturally dull 35-story big office box that kills the street vibe. Ever so thankfully, this project is the best of both... height and it will preserve and enhance that street! And it's a beautiful building to boot! It would be nicer if it were a bit taller than 16 stories, but I can't complain, this is a great fit for Boise. :)

This morning the Statesman has an updated rendering of the redesigned spire and it looks great. The news about Ruth's Chris Steak House (chain restaurant/corporate) is nice and I've eaten at one a few times and they do not compare to our local place Chandlers where you can munch on a locally grown kobe steak:2cents:

Hear hear!

As Disappointing that it is that it won't be the new tallest, i'm very please that it'll still change our skyline dramatically. But life goes on and maybe 5 or 10 years down the road a new 20 floor highrise will be proposed for downtown. but i won't dwell on that now.

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ok Cottonwood if you'd please change the estimated floor count in the thread title to 16 floors I'd really appreciate it. and then once a structure has started to appear: redo the thread completely.

I totally respect Boise. When I was growing up it was like...ehhhhhh. Boise followers that are so defensive. Boise is going to be major in the Mountain Weat. What you have todo is chill. Boise is 50 to 75 years behind many of the cities. Not in totally being in hip and understading but in generating a center and major urban core. It is going to happen and sooner than later. Chill out, the 20 story is not going to do it either. However, that is a cool looking business and it is a major start.

You can say or try to piss me off on any of this but I remember going to BOise with my family and thinking ehhhhhh. Now when I see Boise,I see one of the very cool things.

A major city in the makings.

LOL. What city did you live in again when you were growing up that you thought Boise was ehhhhh? Was that city you grew up in really that cool way back then? ;)