BOISE | 8th & Main Tower | 323 FT | 18 FLOORS
 

This tower will be Boise's new tallest building, eclipsing the U.S. Bank building across the street by 41 feet.

The U.S. Bank building has been the tallest building in Idaho since 1978, when the population of Boise was approximately 90,000 (today, the population is approx. 220,000, with a metro area rapidly nearing 700,000).

The 8th and Main Tower will be built on a site in the core of the city that's been vacant for nearly 3 decades. For Boiseans, this site has been cursed ever since the old Eastman Building was burned down in the 70s. Various towers have been proposed for the site over the years, but all proposals have failed for various reasons. We're optimistic this one will be completed.

The design was approved just this week by the Design Review Committee. Construction is scheduled to begin in Spring 2012 with completion in late 2013.


Renderings:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...hmainrend1.png


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...hmainrend2.png


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...hmainrend3.png


Website:

http://8thandmain.com

:cheers:

Go Boise!

That's a nice looking tower!

About time the Boise skyline started growing! :cheers:

Let's boogie!!!! :banana: :dancingtaco

I created the building in Google Sketchup and photoshopped my model into photos of the Boise skyline. Proportionally, I believe this to be accurate as I carefully followed the measurements in the design review application, but judging by the above renderings, I'm wondering if mine is just slightly big. :shrug:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--...8/ZB2small.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-H...0/ZB3small.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-U...5/ZB1small.jpg

I am so excited for this tower, words can't say enough!! :fingerscrossed:

I think yours are more accurate. With the revised height, the new tower will be between 15 and 20% taller than US Bank.

It's hard to tell.

Technically, the height looks spot-on, but I'm surprised at the mass considering how small the footprint is.

Then again, your Google sketchup would suggest this is an accurate representation, so I think it does provide a nice idea of how it fits with the surrounding structures.

AMEN to that! :tup:

in the 17 years I've lived in Boise, we've had plenty of infill projects, but hopefully this is the start of going more vertical.

It's refreshing to see Boise getting taller.

From now on, I think future high-rise developments in Boise will finally surpass the 200' mark and continually get taller.

As a born and bred Boise native, I am really happy they are finally putting something in the hole that has been there for so long, but I must admit I am a bit saddened by the actual design. I was hoping for something a little more pleasing if not a little more unique. The renderings make it look like a cross between two buildings, and the height and massing make it look sort of pudgy. I guess I was still hoping they would put in a 40 story tower like there had been talk of, but even a better design would have been nice.

I guess I should just be happy that it's finally being built upon, but waiting this long for the hole to fill, I had hoped for something more worth waiting for. That said, my whining doesn't change anything and I am going to try to be glad something is being built.

Not a bad looking building. Sophisticated is what comes to mind when I see it :)

Beautiful building Boise. A great building for a great city. :tup:

Being raised in Twin Falls, I'm surprised that DT Boise is so small given how much the Boise area has grown. Has there been any movement away from sprawl and toward more dense mixed-use communities?

Hey, another Idahoan in SF, cool!
Yeah, Boise's downtown core is pretty sorry given the growth and size of the metro. There were quite a few projects planned before the recession, but money/investment became an issue. I also don't think Boise has done a good enough job of attracting business growth. There are not enough big idea developers in the area and I think politics play a big part in a lot of decisions by both would-be developers and public support.
There has been some movement towards urban infill development and away from sprawl, with agencies being formed that promote those ideas (although I forgot the name of the main group, was it Capital City Development?) but unfortunately it is not all that well received or put into practice. In the second photo in the original post you can see a two block empty area beyond the new tower; this is going to be developed and turned into a mixed use space by the Simplot family if I remember right.

I think one of the issues that I see is that people who move to Boise do so because they can buy twice the house on twice the land for half the price than in CA, so they don't care much for density. I hope this starts to change as these new project get underway.

Actually, there has been a fair amount of infill downtown before the recession hit (such as numerous condo buildings, BoDo, etc.) and there are more infill projects planned and some under construction and others nearing construction. The Boise Development Thread in the MW forum has all of the details. Downtown has not grown upwards at the speed the city and metro have grown, but downtown has become one of the most active in the entire MW region and has an impressive selection of retail and restaurants and street level activities and vibrancy that would make several larger cities envious.

CyberEric, you are referring to the CCDC, Capitol City Development Corp which has accomplished a lot for downtown Boise. They seem to be well received, just not amongst the NIMBY's or anti growth people. Here is the link to their website. http://www.ccdcboise.com/

The JUMP project the Simplot Foundation is building downtown is supposed to start demo work/construction by Spring.

There is a design shop on Exchange Place in Salt Lake City that has the first rendering poster sized and hanging in their display window. It caught me off guard to see it big, beautiful, and hanging in SLC. :tup:

Who is the architect?

On the project's website a shorter tower is shown. Do we know for sure that the taller design is indeed being built?


http://8thandmain.com/


Also, great renderings BoiseAirport! :tup:

When the project was announced, it was to be a 15-floor building--the short version you see on the website.

However, they received so much interest from companies, they added an additional 5 floors. The 20-floor version was the one that the design review committee approved.

What's a little surprising is that there are a number of other commercial buildings proposed for downtown, including a 22-floor one that got scaled back to 14 floors, but all developers have been holding back due to perceived lack of interest and demand. Perhaps the success of this building will spur the other developments to move ahead.

One can hope.

:D

Great to see that hole in the ground finally being redeveloped.

Boisebro - was there ever a render of the 22 story proposal? And where was it going to be?

i never saw a rendering of the 22-story proposal. but in talking to a friend of mine whose wife worked at the arch firm, one does exist.

the project was slated for capital and front, and included two buildings and a large parking garage. the 14-story version rendering is below:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-A...52520Plaza.jpg

my understanding is that the project is on hold, waiting for an improved economy to move forward. until then, the location remains an ugly dirt parking lot.