Original Reporting

Large shopping, hotel, industrial center planned in S. Boise, with big residential growth expected

A large new shopping center could be built in a quiet area in south Boise that’s posed for big growth.

BVA Development is eyeing a large shopping and mixed-use development on S. Orchard St. and Lake Hazel Rd., south of the Boise Airport.

The preliminary plan filed with the City of Boise calls for a large-scale project on 40 acres, with two large retail spaces of 100,000 square feet – about the size of a grocery or big box store. Three smaller retail spaces would connect the larger stores. Along Orchard St., a set of eight pad sites would provide space for smaller standalone retail stores. Behind the shopping center, BVA plans a set of industrial flex buildings.

A future phase calls for a hotel building with roughly 125 rooms.

The company held a pre-application meeting with the city, and BVA CEO Tommy Ahlquist told BoiseDev the project is moving forward.

Site map of proposed Pleasant Valley shopping center. Via BVA

S. Boise boom

The site sits in an undeveloped area that could see significant growth in the coming years. The Ada County Highway District plans to extend Lake Hazel Rd., which currently ends at Orchard St. The highway agency worked on the project in 2006-2008, and would eventually connect Lake Hazel all the way to Isaac’s Canyon and the Eisenman Interchange past Micron – adding a new major east-west connection south of the airport.

To the north of the site, ACHD and the City of Boise plan to realign and widen Orchard St. as it makes its way around the west side of the Boise Airport, adding additional traffic capacity to the area.

Several significant housing projects are approved or are in the works in the area, including CBH Homes’ Locale project, which calls for up to 2,000 homes at full buildout.

BoiseDev previously reported on the BVA’s development plans in the area last year. At the time, the site was marked for potential industrial use, though the plan was preliminary. BVA and Adler Industrial teamed for other industrial uses on adjacent land for a project they called Pleasant Valley. The City of Boise approved that component last summer. Another development, code-named Project Dove was apparently proposed for Amazon, Inc. It was directly south of the shopping center proposal but has not yet moved forward. Amazon has trimmed its overall expansion of warehouse space and, in one case locally, didn’t open a completed and announced warehouse.

The shopping center project will need a large number of approvals from the City of Boise, including annexation, rezoning, a change to the comprehensive plan, a planned unit development permit, and design review.

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Don Day - BoiseDev Editor & Founder
Don Day - BoiseDev Editor & Founder
Don is the founder and publisher of BoiseDev. He is a National Edward R. Murrow Award winner and a Stanford University John S. Knight Fellow. Contact him at [email protected]. His Twitter handle is @donlday

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