JUMP/Simplot World Headquarters - Page 6

boisecynic · #**101** Posted **Jun 17, 2009, 1:47 PM**

Nice perspective. Leave it to sawtooth to make a parking lot and dirt lot look good. BTW, in the first pic, those lights above the center of the Bodo garage look kind of strange, almost ufo-ish.

Cottonwood · #**102** Posted **Jun 17, 2009, 9:38 PM**

I like the first picture.

Here is a website, not much on it yet.

http://www.susandesko-aia.com/

Cottonwood · #**103** Posted **Jun 17, 2009, 9:45 PM**

The Boise Weekly has a few articles about the development they are referring to as JUMP.

http://www.boiseweekly.com/blogs/CityDesk/

The four-block area is somewhat trapezoidal, or, as JUMP architect Susan Desko called it, "kind of like a piano ... Driving down Myrtle, you get this really dynamic kind of curve ahead of you."

http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/tra...nt?oid=1075085

Here are bits from the article....much more is at the link above:

=====================================

The release last month of plans for a four-square-block Simplot family development west of BoDo leaves more questions than answers, including the most basic one: What do we call the $100-million production?

J.R. Simplot Company spokesman David Cuoio, who also represents the Simplot heirs in speaking about Jack's Urban Meeting Place, or JUMP, agreed it's not going to be a shopping mall. In fact, JUMP's Web site will be a dot org.

"There really is no plan for commercial activities to speak of," Cuoio said. "It's going to be a center for all kinds of nonprofit activities including community fun."

Jack's Place does have some unique elements. The circumference of parking garages and possible new home of Simplot company headquarters will sit on piers 26 feet off the ground, allowing unhindered views of the interior. The garages are not just intended for parking, Cuoio said. Antique, steam-powered tractors (Simplot collected more than a 100 of these) and public spaces will be interspersed among the parking spots.

"There will be things happening in the parking area rather than cars just sitting there," he said.

Ketchum-based architect Susan Desko, who designed JUMP, said the parking areas will also frame the entire development, providing a vantage of the park that she likens to a theater in the round. The park-facing parking balconies and stairways will serve as a tailgating/people watching/hanging out venue in and of themselves.
Desko also said the four blocks will be much more open and connected to downtown than the drawing released to date shows.

"Jack's Urban Meeting Place is a green oasis, a clearing in the urban fabric which becomes a stage set, an urban 'theater in the round' for the kind of drama and variety and energy and vitality, planned and spontaneous, that attracts people and thus accelerates the pedestrian, retail, commercial and residential velocity of the streets that are drawn into its vortex," Desko writes in her personal vision of the project.

The design incorporates an outdoor amphitheater seating 1,200 people for concerts or shows and 500 for dinners, a sculpture garden, including more of Simplot's tractor collection, a re-creation of the old downtown train depot at 10th and Front streets and venues for weddings and classes.

The foundation will also be housed at JUMP. A new headquarters for J.R. Simplot Company, which would rise to 16 stories, is also incorporated into the design, though the agribusiness giant, not the family, would finance that, and it remains under negotiation.

Chatterton said Soderberg envisions an artisan market, like the Chelsea Market in New York City, where the public can watch bread being baked and then buy a loaf. There also could be a cafe, or what Chatterton characterized as a large museum store.

BrianInBoise · #**104** Posted **Jun 17, 2009, 10:30 PM**

[QUOTE=

The foundation will also be housed at JUMP. A new headquarters for J.R. Simplot Company, which would riseto [B]16 stories[/B], is also incorporated into the design, though the agribusiness giant, not the family, would finance that, and it remains under negotiation.

QUOTE]

Plus the 26 feet on pilars, JUMP should easly reach as high as the Apsen.

Visualize · #**105** Posted **Jun 18, 2009, 2:57 AM**

If the Simplot headquarters are not put into the plan which doesn't sound final, it will just basically be a stubby ring of parking garages....super. But there will be tractors in them, so that makes it cool...badung-dung-dang

Quote:

Desko also said the four blocks will be much more open and connected to downtown than the drawing released to date shows.

I can't wait to see the changes made. A slight mention wouldn't have hurt any. I do have to say that my stomach sank a little when I first read that the architect is from Ketchum. Seriously, a hundred million dollar urban project set to change the face of downtown Boise forever and the architect is from one of the most podunk places in Idaho.

Maybe her experience spreads farther than the grain silo and corner store which I should give her the benefit of the doubt for.

I was curious to look into the influence that the Simplot family attained from Campo in Sienna Italy.
Here is a link that gives 360 degree views.
http://www.italyguides.it/us/siena_i..._del_campo.htm

Personally, I think that looks horribly boring. If there weren't tourists it would be completely empty. If I was there I would be much more inclined to wonder the winding, dense Euro urbanity that surrounds it.

There are still some positive elements and drastic differences and improvements to Campo in Sienna that despite my rant I remain mainly optimistic. Hearing that the path from the Pioneer Corridor will cut diagonally through the property helped...

And it's a 3-dimensional rendering. Release some more angles!!

Sawtooth · #**106** Posted **Jun 18, 2009, 3:40 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by boisecynic

Nice perspective. Leave it to sawtooth to make a parking lot and dirt lot look good. BTW, in the first pic, those lights above the center of the Bodo garage look kind of strange, almost ufo-ish.

You made me smile.

The other night is the first time I have been in that parking lot, that huge parking lot, but even though it is a parking lot I have to say that the landscaping in the lot and around the perimeter is finer than some city parks I have seen in various cities.

leftopolis · #**107** Posted **Jun 18, 2009, 9:11 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Visualize

I can't wait to see the changes made. A slight mention wouldn't have hurt any. I do have to say that my stomach sank a little when I first read that the architect is from Ketchum. Seriously, a hundred million dollar urban project set to change the face of downtown Boise forever and the architect is from one of the most podunk places in Idaho.

Maybe her experience spreads farther than the grain silo and corner store which I should give her the benefit of the doubt for.

Well, I don't want to start rumors...but a quick google of her, and I came up with:
--No portfolio
--Prior architectural work consists of a luxury home and mental health care home
--She's hiring: architects, designers...
I hope I'm wrong, but maybe no new ideas were forthcoming, because there aren't any yet...until she hires the crew who will work on the "major project".
I'm practically expecting to hear she's dating JR's grand-nephew or whatever...and yeah, when you want an urban project done and you don't go local, it's usually in order to go to a more established/experienced firm, than what's available in you city.

boisecynic · #**108** Posted **Jun 18, 2009, 2:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by leftopolis

I'm practically expecting to hear she's dating JR's grand-nephew or whatever.

^This!

Visualize, I agree, except I'd hardly call Ketchum podunk. Are you sure you weren't thinking of Hailey?

The whole thing on stilts? So where's the street vibe, like, um Ketchum? Amphitheater? Did the Shakespeare festival snub the Simplots somehow?

One of us needs to figure out where the architect copied that idea.

Cottonwood · #**109** Posted **Jun 18, 2009, 3:04 PM**

I would think that if she is an accomplished architect in Ketchum that she has status and a good reputation....because after searching the web I found that she has designed a lot of beautiful homes and interiors in Ketchum where people are picky and demand quality. Using local talent is the best way to go imo.
Maybe Visualize was thinking of Keuterville up in north Idaho.
Look at international stars like Gehry and his designs...They make me want to vomit.

Visualize · #**110** Posted **Jun 18, 2009, 3:13 PM**

Outside of the few major cities in Idaho they are all podunk, and with Ketchums 2000 Census population being 3,003 it qualifies. But yes, I agree with you in that Hailey and some of the other farming communities in the area are more fitting of the mental picture one creates when hearing the word. I'm sure she has drawn significant influence from traveling the area and absorbing all the eclectic qualities south central Idaho has to offer.

What's with the Simplots not wanting any retail? So the project has no residential, no retail, and is completely inward focused. I smell a recipe for success!! Way to go Desko, you nailed it, a perfect recreation of outdated ideology.

alphawolf · #**111** Posted **Jun 18, 2009, 4:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Visualize

What's with the Simplots not wanting any retail? So the project has no residential, no retail, and is completely inward focused. I smell a recipe for success!! Way to go Desko, you nailed it, a perfect recreation of outdated ideology.

So I take it I'm not going to fill my tater tot hunger there?

Boysee Boi · #**112** Posted **Jun 18, 2009, 5:41 PM**

What's with all the hostility about this project? I'm reserving judgment until a more final plan is released along with more/current renderings. I'm starting to feel like I'm reading the comments on a Statesman story. Furthermore, I'd hardly call the most expensive place in Idaho to live "podunk". If they said she was from Pocatello I'd be scratching my head. Though I'll admit with Desko's apparent lack of experience, I wouldn't be surprised to hear she's a friend of the family. Even then I can't imagine the Simplot's spending this kind of their own money on a hack.

Can't we try to be a little more optimistic about this? At least until all the details are revealed?

boisecynic · #**113** Posted **Jun 18, 2009, 10:22 PM**

I don't think it's hostility, it's criticism. The bigger the project the more likely there will be criticism, and the more likely it will be vociferous. It's some sort of Murphy's Law corollary, I suppose. I surmise that criticism is a necessary and healthy part of just about any human endeavor. Hopefully, the powers that be read these forums and end up with an improved plan. After all, what they build on that lot will be there for a 100 years or more. No time like the present to get it right. Remember, the space shuttle program had critics of the O-ring design and the foam sloughing, too bad their warnings weren't heeded.

Take a look at the newspaper clippings and flyers from the 70s and 80s about the Broadway/Chinden connector if you want to see hostility. What was one headline? A 1950s solution to a 1980s problem. Fact is, is hard to imagine Boise without the Broadway/Chinden connector. I remember when there was a problem with the Boise
River bridge footings and there was a long delay, the critics came out of the woodwork. Despite the criticism it turned out ok.

You have a point however, this forum has always been more highbrow than any other local forum and that's probably why it has near daily traffic. Nothing wrong with striving to keep it that way. A few more pictures from some of you might be a bonus, as long as it's not overdone.

Despite the way I might seem, I'm extremely optimistic about the JUMP project. I only wonder if they had considered any alternatives. I know it's private property, and they can do what they want, more or less, but why didn't they involve the public. You know, a market survey. If there was a survey, I'm not aware of it. It's the public they're going to have to sell to. Why not, Hey, we're going to spend $100 million to develop this lot, and here are a few concepts, what do you think public?

BoiseAirport · #**114** Posted **Jun 18, 2009, 11:45 PM**

First off, reading all sorts of articles from the Idaho Statesman and their comments, I've come to the conclusion that the aggregate intellegence of the Idaho Statesman comment boards ranks somewhere below that of YouTube's, and I doubt it has little, if any, credibility whatsoever. People there, for reasons beyond my understanding, are way more bitter and cynical than any group of people I've ever seen or heard.

They are most certainly not representative of what people actually think or vote for in this city, as history has shown.

Anthony

Sawtooth · #**115** Posted **Jun 19, 2009, 12:36 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Visualize

Outside of the few major cities in Idaho they are all podunk, and with Ketchums 2000 Census population being 3,003 it qualifies. But yes, I agree with you in that Hailey and some of the other farming communities in the area are more fitting of the mental picture one creates when hearing the word. I'm sure she has drawn significant influence from traveling the area and absorbing all the eclectic qualities south central Idaho has to offer.

What's with the Simplots not wanting any retail? So the project has no residential, no retail, and is completely inward focused. I smell a recipe for success!! Way to go Desko, you nailed it, a perfect recreation of outdated ideology.

Do not be too worried because a lot of people in Ketchum have travelled around the world, are originally from other areas of planet earth, articulate, artistic, and have high standards of quality and achievement.

Ketchum may be small but it is big on ideas and talent.
There are some fantastic buildings and developments going up in Ketchum and I think it is a really attractive little resort city. The past decade the town has kind of gone through a renaissance.

Just for fun and thought, I wonder what people like Arnold and Maria, Tom Hanks, Barbara Streisand, some of the Kennedy family, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, big time movie producers, several CEO's of major corporations including The Gap, tons of other athletes, movie stars, and millionaires would think to find out that they have condos and mansions in one of the most podunk places in Idaho

The Sun Valley/Ketchum area has some of the priciest real estate of any mountain resort four seasons town in the good old USA, that area is full of Bling. Driving up Highway 75 past Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey and seeing all of those private jets parked row after row really sets the tone for what is going on up there. Some of the remaining ranch and farm land in the Wood River Valley near Hailey is probably worth millions, even the ones that have silos

If Ketchum is podunk I would hate to see how Rexburg and Firth and Burley are classified.

Sorry for rambling, my fingers kind of took control, but I am partial to that area, I lived there for a few years and visit often, and know for a fact that the Wood River Valley is like Mecca to a lot of people from all over the world.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boysee Boi

What's with all the hostility about this project? I'm reserving judgment until a more final plan is released along with more/current renderings. I'm starting to feel like I'm reading the comments on a Statesman story. Furthermore, I'd hardly call the most expensive place in Idaho to live "podunk". If they said she was from Pocatello I'd be scratching my head. Though I'll admit with Desko's apparent lack of experience, I wouldn't be surprised to hear she's a friend of the family. Even then I can't imagine the Simplot's spending this kind of their own money on a hack.

Can't we try to be a little more optimistic about this? At least until all the details are revealed?

I am looking forward to more details and hopefully the new HQ tower for Simplot is ready to be built along with the rest of the project.

leftopolis · #**116** Posted **Jun 19, 2009, 9:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boysee Boi

What's with all the hostility about this project? I'm reserving judgment until a more final plan is released along with more/current renderings. I'm starting to feel like I'm reading the comments on a Statesman story. Furthermore, I'd hardly call the most expensive place in Idaho to live "podunk". If they said she was from Pocatello I'd be scratching my head. Though I'll admit with Desko's apparent lack of experience, I wouldn't be surprised to hear she's a friend of the family. Even then I can't imagine the Simplot's spending this kind of their own money on a hack.

Can't we try to be a little more optimistic about this? At least until all the details are revealed?

"Hostility" is maybe a pretty strong description...However, as I'm, in part, responsible for expressing concerns in a potentially negative way, I at least owe you an explanation. I do agree that you make a reasonable point about focusing on the potential merits--and in fact there are many positive aspects of this project which are exciting for Boise. It's a significant downtown project with guaranteed financing--that would be exciting enough for most US cities at the present time. Boise deserves the best possible project to come out of this, and I certainly didn't intend to sound hostile by expressing some concerns about the architect, which is why I started my post with "I don't mean to start rumors"...Check it out yourself--if you think I'm blowing something out of proportion, I'll consider that possibility:

Here's the Google Search of Susan+Desko+architect+Ketchum .

I have concerns that her experience is mostly with luxury homes in a small town/rural/isolated environment, and that many of the google listings are simply her looking to hire a team of architects/designers...shortly after the JUMP announcement.

On a positive note, the construction company chosen--is well experienced in a broad range of urban projects:

Hoffman Construction of Portland - Project List

Boysee Boi · #**117** Posted **Jun 29, 2009, 6:59 PM**

My gut tells me this is not going to happen, but who knows? I don't think the city is capable of coming up with the kind of money this would require before JUMP breaks ground anyway. I'm sure incorporating a new library into this project would cut the new library cost substantially though.

I'm still hoping Mark Rivers' plan with the Library Blocks works out in a few years.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/localn...ry/817556.html

Library officials and a volunteer group of community leaders are looking at whether a new main library could be part of Jack's Urban Meeting Place, the J.R. Simplot family project at 9th and Myrtle Downtown.

"The Simplot family is considering many different possibilities for the JUMP project," said spokesman David Cuoio. "The idea of being associated with the library in some way is certainly intriguing."

Library Director Kevin Booe cautions that all options are still on the table, including a 2006 proposal by developer Mark Rivers to anchor a new mixed-use development near the river with a Downtown library.

The city is nearing the end of an ambitious program to create a network of libraries. Officials have built three branches in 18 months and have plans for a fourth at Bown Crossing.

Now they are turning their attention back to the aging main library. Replacing it could cost $97.7 million.

Last year, Mayor Dave Bieter appointed a group of community leaders to look at funding options and possibilities for a new main branch. The group's last meeting is Monday.

The group was looking at possibilities, from partnerships with developers to financing options like bonds.

"The committee has identified some of the needs in terms of space and put some pro forma dollars to it," said committee member and Boise City Councilman David Eberle.

"We will start to evaluate the two proposals that sit before us today. But there could easily be a third or a fourth," Eberle said. "The interest expressed by the Simplot Foundation to collaborate with the city raises some very good issues to get the group focused."

"We want lots of options, and I think the community wants lots of options, too," Booe said.

"Get the plans out there ready to pull the trigger once the downturn and the recession goes away and the economy improves," he said.

Cottonwood · #**118** Posted **Jun 29, 2009, 9:08 PM**

I like the idea of keeping the library where it currently is and becoming part of the Library Blocks development.
Maybe JUMP can include a nice new Powells Bookstore based out of Portland

(hint, hint Simplots)

Boiseguy · #**119** Posted **Jun 29, 2009, 10:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

I like the idea of keeping the library where it currently is and becoming part of the Library Blocks development.
Maybe JUMP can include a nice new Powells Bookstore based out of Portland

(hint, hint Simplots)

If there isn't going to be residential in the project, I'd atleast like to see some retail that's for sure.... especially considering it's proximity to bodo...

Boiseguy · #**120** Posted **Jul 13, 2009, 8:36 AM**

http://www.smirnov.net/2009/05/boise-development/

"I’m following a lot of the information at the SkyscraperPage Forums, in the Mountain West subforum. I also enjoy looking at the various picture threads posted here in the City Photos section, particularly those by user “Sawtooth.” His threads, like this this recent thread showing Boise heading into summer, are always phenomenally well done."