Garden City has an infill jewel, the Waterfront District, yet the city struggles to evolve
Officials would love more large-scale developments like the Waterfront District, which would distance the community from its industrial past.
By ZACH KYLE
zkyle@idahostatesman.com March 14, 2015
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Neill bought the property and started building in 2005. Nearly a decade later, more than 100 residential properties have been built and sold in what's called the Waterfront District. Single-family homes anchored the project in its early years. Infill projects, such as condominiums and townhomes, now make up most of the development.
The Waterfront has nearly filled up. There are two parcels left near the Greenbelt. Developer David Southers plans to fill one of them with 31 condominiums. They would be similar in size and style to those at Hyde Park Place, which he built in the North End in 2004.
Southers said he has received four reservations for condos since January and will build once he has 10 or 15. He expects buyers of all ages, but if Hyde Park Place and his other small condo projects are any indication, many of his buyers will be single women.
The last undeveloped plot in the district, which could be home to a similar-sized condo project, is for sale for nearly $600,000.
WANTED: HIGH DENSITY
Garden City would love to see more large-scale developments convert land to more-modern uses, said Jenah Thornborrow, the city's development services director.
PROGRESS ON CHINDEN
The Waterfront District is likely to be more exception than model for future development, because it's too hard to cobble together acreage, Neill said. The city also lacks resources to encourage builders, he said. He and his partners invested $3.5 million to build the roads and other infrastructure in the Waterfront, and they paid to access city water, he said.
"The next phase for the city will depend on cooperation with landowners," Neill said. "It's not planning in terms of zoning paperwork. It's planning in terms of infrastructure and money. That's where the city will have to concentrate to get redevelopment to spread."