Quote:
Originally Posted by NOPA
Being raised in Twin Falls, I'm surprised that DT Boise is so small given how much the Boise area has grown. Has there been any movement away from sprawl and toward more dense mixed-use communities?
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Hey, another Idahoan in SF, cool!
Yeah, Boise's downtown core is pretty sorry given the growth and size of the metro. There were quite a few projects planned before the recession, but money/investment became an issue. I also don't think Boise has done a good enough job of attracting business growth. There are not enough big idea developers in the area and I think politics play a big part in a lot of decisions by both would-be developers and public support.
There has been some movement towards urban infill development and away from sprawl, with agencies being formed that promote those ideas (although I forgot the name of the main group, was it Capital City Development?) but unfortunately it is not all that well received or put into practice. In the second photo in the original post you can see a two block empty area beyond the new tower; this is going to be developed and turned into a mixed use space by the Simplot family if I remember right.
I think one of the issues that I see is that people who move to Boise do so because they can buy twice the house on twice the land for half the price than in CA, so they don't care much for density. I hope this starts to change as these new project get underway.