1. Medical office building clears design review. Erstad Architects has designed the first project in the Master Plan area and it is located at the southwest corner of Whitewater Park Boulevard and Main Street. This building is 2 stories and ~21,000 square feet.
2. Property cleanup. With the help of Public Works and ESI, we are starting cleanup of City owned parcels on Fairview & Main. The road opens in less than 30 days, and hopefully we see further cleanup of trees, vacant buildings, and unused fences.
3. Coverage in Idaho Statesman and Idaho Business Review. With the recent hiring of the “30th Street Project Coordinator” and the opening of Whitewater Park Boulevard this month, many people are curious as to potential developments in the area. Both the Idaho Statesman and the Idaho Business Review had articles highlighting good things happening in the area during September.
4. Artistic map of The West End almost complete. Stephanie Inman completed the Cultural Arts Plan for The West End, and has been hired to complete an artistic map of the area. We are excited by the rough draft and envision a poster map that residents and businesses will hang on the wall to highlight the great things giving this area a unique identity!
5. Stakeholder Outreach. Much time in September was spent speaking with the various stakeholders in the area: business owners, property owners, agency representatives, Parks and Recreation, Boise City Ada County Housing Authority, etc. This outreach is vital in forming those teams and relationships that will make collaboration on great projects possible.
Things to be watching for…
1. Zoning and parking review. This past month of work has entailed lots of study of the Master Plan, and we are working on possible zoning and parking regulations, as well as, transportation ideas that need to be addressed to help guide the type of development we want to promote.
2. Start branding efforts. Several branding proposals have been obtained, and we hope to hire a firm in the next couple weeks to start bringing a special identity to The West End!
3. Working towards identifying and completing smaller projects. With outreach to stakeholders, the desires of owners and tenants in this area are becoming clear. By putting these pieces together, hopefully we can start seeing projects in the coming months.