Boise Development Thread

[boisecynic]

On the previous page BoiseAirport wrote:

Wow, I just realized I've been on this forum for almost 7 years. Has it really been that long? Ha, I remember the very first post I made. I was such a little doofus... I think I was 13 when I joined.

It's not something I think about a whole lot, but I really do owe much of where I am right now to SSP. I don't think I would've developed a passion for the progression and urban development of my hometown without it. I definitely don't think I would be into 3D modeling at all. Chatting with local enthusiasts for 7 years really fueled my passion and curiosity. How awesome is that?

I was just scanning through this thread... Lots of neat gems here and there, I completely forgot that the Banner Bank was supposed to be 16 stories. I would love to see a rendering of that. Haha, good times... good times... Watching the Aspen and the Hampton Inn & Suites rise.

Say, where did these SSPers go?
boisepicture
mr. condo
BoiseIdahoan
BrianinBoise
IdaBoi
logicskier
nobody
Mr. Boisean and IdahoMountainBoy are gone too, I wonder where they went...

Nobody claimed to be moving here: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=146714 (post #19) The others, I don't know. Logicskier always posted good stuff. It is interesting to go back through the entire thread but it's so long now that it takes a long time.

What's really interesting though is this thread is now a document for historical research. Hopefully Dylan has good backups because if this site ever goes down it will take a lot of info with it that can't be found anywhere else.

[Cottonwood]

Originally Posted by boisecynic

What's really interesting though is this thread is now a document for historical research. Hopefully Dylan has good backups because if this site ever goes down it will take a lot of info with it that can't be found anywhere else.

Spot on...a lot of info would be lost, and good info too. I bet a fair number of local lurkers read this forum for the information and never post reponses or even sign up with a user name. Boizean pops in once in a while.

[Cottonwood]

The entire article is at the link. A friend of mine worked for one of the local refugee offices a few years ago and she always said Boise is one of the first choices of cities to place refugees because it is the perfect city for them to acclimate to American life. The caring nature of the local people here is one of big reasons too.

http://www.ktvb.com/news/Community-p...146030665.html

Community partnerships helping refugees settle into Boise


BOISE-- Community leaders are the people who can make a town feel like a home. That is why in Boise, community partnerships are key to welcoming the refugee population.

Three years ago, the city started working on the Refugee Resource Strategic Community Plan. Local businesses and the mayor's office teamed up to help refugees moving into Boise.

Theresa McLeod with the Mayor's office says Boise's plan is getting national attention. Last week, she presented the plan at the Episcopal Migration Ministry conference and says other communities are looking into creating similar programs.

[Hawk]

I haven't been here for long but I am here to stay. I may may not post as much as i use to when i first signed up ( I need to start being more active), but I check SSP every single day.

[trekkerguy]

I know I'm a little late on these, but I was gone for a while and wanted to respond to this convo.

Originally Posted by Mr. Pragmatic

First, since this is my first post since joining, let me say hello and thanks for keeping the interest in Boise's growth alive and focused on substance.

Affordable housing downtown is simply not possible given the cost of construction. The only way it is ever going to happen is if it is subsidized. Condos are dead from a financing standpoint and the cost to build vertical is prohibitive. Type V over Type 1 was supposed to be the path to affordability, but it has not worked. The alternative is to locate density around the edges of the downtown core and provide public transportation that is intelligently planned and truly functional.

Welcome to the forum Mr. Pragmatic!
You make a very good point, I just get very frustrated with the only affordable places(by affordable I mean for average people workinng average jobs) where people could realistically even share a residence to live not being very close to downtown. But I definitely understand what you're saying.

I like the statement about adding more density around the edges of downtown core, perhaps downtown could expand this way? I'm all for that.

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

There are proposals for large apartment complexes across the river from downtown near BSU which can help fill that gap. I feel that large lot at Idaho/Bannock and 16th would be perfect for affordable apartments. I assume, maybe I am wrong, that the young working class who don't live near downtown and happen to live out in west Boise still come downtown for their entertainment, if downtown is their scene. (Some of them may be more of the TGI Fridays crowd and the chain restaurants near BTS are their scene).
Downtown has been pretty busy recently (as it usually is), especially at nights and weekends...it is almost impossible to get into a restaurant without reservations and even then there is a wait. More young professionals living in the downtown area is always going to be a positive. Downtown has an impressive selection of restaurants, retail, etc...but imagine what more we could have if there were a larger number of young pro's living in downtown.



also..
Work has commenced inside of the old Macy's building. Hopefully renderings are released soon.

Cottonwood agreed about downtown being busy. Being over here in South Florida(for the moment, may be coming back this summer, tbd) I've been able to visit places like Hollywood and Ft. Lauderdale and both have fantastic street level urban culture. In fact... it very much reminded me of Boise except with a beach and more bikinis

Either way, Boise is ahead of it's time and will continue to progress, perhaps I am seeing more disparity than there really is when it comes to downtown housing, though I'd still like to see a couple more apartment buildings pop up in/near downtown that provide housing similar to Civic Plaza Apts. I just know far too many younger people around my age who prefer to head out with the TGIFriday and Mall crowds...

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

I bet a fair number of local lurkers read this forum for the information and never post reponses or even sign up with a user name.

I lurked for about six months before finally joining, realizing that this entire subject matter had become fairly important to me.



Side note: My girlfriend and I may be breaking up and as much as I love my home state of Florida and the plentiful access to beaches, big cities and all my favorite sports teams, I may be making arrangements to return to The City of Trees this summer.

[BoiseAirport]

Forbes: Best Cities for Raising a Family

No. 2 Boise, Idaho

Rankings (of 100 largest metros):
Median Income: 64 Cost of Living Index: 44 Housing Affordability: 34 Commuting: 23 Pct. Owning Homes: 29 (69%) Crime: 5 Education: 1

Life is good for many families in the Pacific Northwest’s third largest city, with lower costs and less crime than the region’s two biggest metros, Seattle and Portland. And there’s the local powerhouse football team, the Boise State Broncos.

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eddf4...gallerycontent

[el conquistador]

Originally Posted by BoiseAirport

Forbes: Best Cities for Raising a Family



http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eddf4...gallerycontent

I wish the article went into detail on what the scoring criteria are. It said in the article 'quality of schools' in Boise are good, but Idaho struggles in that department significantly. Most colleges in the region acknowledge that even the best and the brightest of Idaho public schools are about about a year behind overall and have a tough first year.

[Cottonwood]

Originally Posted by el conquistador

I wish the article went into detail on what the scoring criteria are. It said in the article 'quality of schools' in Boise are good, but Idaho struggles in that department significantly. Most colleges in the region acknowledge that even the best and the brightest of Idaho public schools are about about a year behind overall and have a tough first year.

The Boise area school districts typically rank as the best in the state and the Boise district high schools have been ranked nationally.

http://commerce.idaho.gov/news/2011/...-rankings.aspx
7/12/2011
All four of Boise School District’s traditional high schools appear in Washington Post’s (formerly Newsweek’s) annual listing of America’s best high schools for effectively preparing students for college. Boise, Borah, Capital, and Timberline high schools list among the top 7-percent of all public high schools in the U.S. The four BSD high schools are among only seven high schools in Idaho, and the only high schools in southwest Idaho, to earn this national recognition. The newspaper released the national rankings in May, 2011

[BoiseTran]

Originally Posted by el conquistador

I wish the article went into detail on what the scoring criteria are. It said in the article 'quality of schools' in Boise are good, but Idaho struggles in that department significantly. Most colleges in the region acknowledge that even the best and the brightest of Idaho public schools are about about a year behind overall and have a tough first year.

It's true that certain districts in Idaho lag behind, as it true of many states, but the article is about the city of Boise, not the entire state. And as a Boise High graduate who went on to graduate at Oregon State with a 3.9 GPA, I'm a little offended.

[boi2socal]

Only basing this on my own experience, but the high schools in Ada County seem to put out decent and well prepared grads. I didn't attend college right out of high school, but many of my friends did. They all did quite well. When I started taking classes, many years after graduating, I still felt I had an easier time than my "fresh" faced California classmates. But California is strange, with some of the best and worst high schools.

[el conquistador]

Hey guys I really appreciate your candid replies, I have known that Boise schools exceed the state averages quite a bit. I am in the Meridian school district and the frustration of knowing that my kids are in the lowest per-student funded district in the nation is kind of a downer. Add to that, my son could be in the GATE program but because Meridian is so overcrowded he doesn't qualify there.

But, Mrs. Conquistador and I have considered strongly moving into the Boise school district, particularly SE Boise or North End. We are also in the middle of making some life and career choices that may take us out of state, though... Lots of flux in the Conquistador household.

[boisecynic]

Just for the fun of it: A blast from the past

Credit goes to Albertson's Library Digital Collection, Boise State

[Boisebro]

thanks boisecynic,

i love this old photos of boise, especially aerials, but they seem to be tough to find online.

i shared this on the bronco board. hope you don't mind.

[el conquistador]

Originally Posted by boisecynic

Just for the fun of it: A blast from the past

Credit goes to Albertson's Library Digital Collection, Boise State

Something wrong with the field...

[boisecynic]

But the track is blue, and parking was allowed on Broadway. Ahh, the good old days. I hope the new track is going to be blue, anyone got any knowledge of the new track's color?

[BoiseAirport]

Man, I'm so sick of that ugly river!!! And these awful parks, talk about wasted space! When are they gonna finally fill it in with a super triple bypass expressway?!?

Highways, Turnpikes, Overpasses, Underpasses, Expressways, Parking lots!! That's what this city needs!!!





Great photo, thanks for digging that up boisecynic!

[BoiseAirport]

Artist rendering for good measure:

[trekkerguy]

Originally Posted by BoiseAirport

Man, I'm so sick of that ugly river!!! And these awful parks, talk about wasted space! When are they gonna finally fill it in with a super triple bypass expressway?!?

Highways, Turnpikes, Overpasses, Underpasses, Expressways, Parking lots!! That's what this city needs!!!





Great photo, thanks for digging that up boisecynic!

Hilarious! I would like to see Myrtle and Front tunneled. After driving across the country this winter we went through several major cities that diverted what would be the equivalent of Broadway/Connector traffic through tunnels under major downtown roads. It would clear so much congestion for all involved, downtown and highway.

[Hawk]

Originally Posted by trekkerguy

Hilarious! I would like to see Myrtle and Front tunneled. After driving across the country this winter we went through several major cities that diverted what would be the equivalent of Broadway/Connector traffic through tunnels under major downtown roads. It would clear so much congestion for all involved, downtown and highway.

Agreed! I would love to see that done as well. Sooner or Later Boise will need to expand.

[boisecynic]

Originally Posted by trekkerguy

Hilarious! I would like to see Myrtle and Front tunneled. After driving across the country this winter we went through several major cities that diverted what would be the equivalent of Broadway/Connector traffic through tunnels under major downtown roads. It would clear so much congestion for all involved, downtown and highway.

What cities? I've posted it before, San Diego tunneled covered a stretch of I-15 in a neighborhood south of I-8 but it's only 670 feet long (google maps: http://g.co/maps/y5utm) and that's the only one I'm aware of.