Boise’s southwest downtown could change with apartments, retail incoming. Here’s how

Downtown Boise’s southwest corner may look a little different in the coming years as developers move into the area with plans for several multistory apartment and retail projects.

The developments, all within walking distance of the Boise River Greenbelt and near Shoreline Drive and Whitewater Park Boulevard, promise to leave a stamp on a changing city and revamp an area still filled with parking lots and one-story commercial buildings.

The Boise City Council unanimously approved a rezoning March 26 for one such development from Denver and Las Vegas developer Morgan Stonehill at 703 S. Americana Blvd. — across the street from the Shoreline Business Center, where the Boise Farmers Market is held.

The council had previously approved a rezoning for the 3-acre site before the city’s new zoning code went into effect in December. The new code changed the zoning of the site, meaning Morgan Stonehill needed to rezone again before building the property.

The development, named Americana West in 2022, would replace the existing St. Luke’s Health System orthopedic and urgent care clinics at the site with an eight-story building that would offer 335 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Plans call for 8,000 square feet of ground floor retail and amenities including a pool, spa deck, multiple courtyards, barbecue stations, a third-floor deck and fitness center, according to a letter submitted to the city. Plans call for a plaza and dog park included on the ground level.

“The project brings needed additional housing to an area undergoing a transformation consistent with the goals of the Shoreline Urban Renewal District,” according to the letter. “The project is pedestrian-oriented, offering residents a quick … walk to the Greenbelt for a peaceful commute or recreational opportunities, and a short bike or scooter ride downtown.”

Ari Steinberg, managing partner for Morgan Stonehill, declined to comment on the development. The property is owned by Kevin Amar, owner of the Meridian homebuilder Biltmore Co. Amar did not return a request for comment.

The Morgan Stonehill apartments would join two other developments along Americana Boulevard:

1. Condominiums on the Greenbelt

The long-proposed Trapper’s Island condominium complex at 3600 W. Americana Terrace, half a mile east of Morgan Stonehill’s proposed apartments, recently re-emerged after a fight with heirs of the Albertson family.

Plans for Trapper’s Island from Boise’s Doug Jayo and his company, Jayo Holdings, include four, six-story buildings with 200 condominiums spread among them. Jayo tried to build Trapper’s Island in 2007, but plans fell apart as the Great Recession broke out.

Another attempt in 2019 fizzled after a fight with the city of Boise and heirs to the Albertson family, who argued that the buildings would block the view from their homes on the rim of the Boise Bench.

Jayo has revived the project and plans to submit a new application to the city in the coming weeks.

Trapper’s Island would be built just west of Americana Boulevard and just north of Kathryn Albertson Park along the Boise River Greenbelt. Plans call for two public plazas, ground-floor retail shops and options for dining. For residents, amenities would include a clubhouse, community room and pool.

“Best-case scenario, (it will be) about two years from now when we have a finished product,” Jayo told the Statesman.

2. A ‘Midtown’ community?

Another development directly across from the proposed apartments from Morgan Stonehill, where the Boise Farmers Market is hosted, was proposed in 2018 but has yet to make significant moves forward.

The project from Derick O’Neill, a former director of Boise’s Planning and Development Services Department, and his company, River Shore Development, would remake the former Kmart at 1500 Shoreline Drive and the surrounding area.

The development is part of what O’Neill is calling Midtown, “where riverfront offices feel ‘away from it all’ despite being two minutes from I-84 and the downtown core,” according to River Shore’s website. The area is bordered by Myrtle Street, the Boise River, I-84 and 9th Street.

River Shore Development was part of a group of investors who bought the eight-acre property in 2018 after a different developer had proposed building a baseball stadium at the site, according to prior Idaho Statesman reporting.

But details for the project are slim, with redevelopment still likely a few years away. A San Diego company that produces insulin pumps for diabetes, Tandem Diabetes Care, signed a seven-year lease in 2020 for more than 94,000 square feet of the former Kmart, according to prior Statesman reporting.

O’Neill told the Statesman in 2020 that the Tandem Diabetes Care lease did not mean River Shore had abandoned plans to redevelop the property.

The building at 1500 Shoreline Drive is also still leasing space to new tenants — including to Exyte, Micron’s general contractor for its coming $15 billion Boise microchip fabrication plant.

O’Neill did not respond to requests for comment, and there have been no updates to River Shore Development’s website since Midtown’s December 2021 recap. The company’s Facebook profile has not been updated since Jan. 7, 2020.

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