Boise: 8th & Main Tower/Zions Bank Idaho HQ: 323' and 18 Floors

[Architecture Buff]

Cam photo of a section of the air handler being lifted 6-24-2013:

[Boisebro]

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

The remainder of the article is at the link.


http://www.boiseweekly.com/CityDesk/arch...h-difference-of-opinion-with-ruths-chris

CCDC Considers '16-Inch Difference of Opinion' With Ruth's Chris

Posted by George Prentice on Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 11:15 AM


It was all about 16 inches.

One of the longer discussions to mark the June 10 meeting of the Capital City Development Corporation concerned a unique request from the soon-to-be Ruth's Chris steakhouse restaurant, one of the ground floor tenants of the Eighth and Main Tower, which is still under construction.

Ruth's Chris has designs to include sidewalk dining through its alcove facing Eighth Street, but it wants to stretch that dining area onto the sidewalk. The problem is that the Eighth and Main building is 10-feet further east than any of the buildings on the west side of Eighth, effectively leaving less than 4-feet of usable patio space.

i think the CCDC is wise to question this.

while sidewalk dining is great, boise's sidewalks are simply too narrow for it to be done safely.

those grates are not only dangerous to walk on for women with high heals, but they don't all lay flat, either. i've seen many people trip on those things downtown.

add a couple of glasses of wine or beer and it gets even worse.

i think we're getting closer and closer to the city just shutting down 8th street to traffic and making it a pedestrian mall. then they can widen the sidewalks to accommodate the restaurants and keep the downtown vibe going without worrying about getting sued because people trip over those grates.

[Evo5Boise]

I think an 8th street pedestrain corridor would be amazing. Nobody needs to drive down that section of 8th anymore anyways really.

[Visualize]

I've always been a proponent of 8th St being a pedestrian corridor. Until then, if the parking were changed from the east to the west side of the street, something like this street dining deck would work perfect there.


http://www.westport-news.com/news/article/Pop-goes-the-seating-Street-side-dining-plan-1610859.php

[Cottonwood]

Originally Posted by Visualize

I've always been a proponent of 8th St being a pedestrian corridor. Until then, if the parking were changed from the east to the west side of the street, something like this street dining deck would work perfect there.


http://www.westport-news.com/news/article/Pop-goes-the-seating-Street-side-dining-plan-1610859.php

The example in the pic would be great in some areas of downtown where the al fresco dining makes the sidewalk narrow, for example in front of Asiago's and for the future Ruth's Chris. The patio dining on 8th between Bannock and Idaho fits well because the sidewalks are wide enough for both pedestrians and the outdoor dining. I would love to see 8th, at least between Idaho and Bannock closed to autos because the street itself is so narrow and usually busy with cyclists, boarders, and pedestrians. Autos are in the way.

[livedowntown]

I never comment on this thread but I like to follow it. It's exciting to get a new tower no mater where you live. I thought I would interject here on the current topic. Usually I don't like pedestrian malls (closing the street to cars) because planners and officials try to use them to draw in pedestrians and business. Take a dying street and try to make it busy. They usually fail because they isolate the businesses already along the street limiting exposure and name recognition. Beyond that, people are not going to walk down a street just because it was made to walk down. There has to be a real sustainable draw.

That area on 8th however is already a draw. This is an instance where it might work really well because it is already filled with people. I would caution making the pedestrian only section as short as possible at first to concentrate focus. Dress it really well with lights and great seating and tables. Then as demand arises expand.

Either way this new tower, as opposed to that sad hole, will breathe new life into an already thriving section of Boise. Congrats.

[Sawtooth]

[Cottonwood]

Originally Posted by livedowntown

I never comment on this thread but I like to follow it. It's exciting to get a new tower no mater where you live. I thought I would interject here on the current topic. Usually I don't like pedestrian malls (closing the street to cars) because planners and officials try to use them to draw in pedestrians and business. Take a dying street and try to make it busy. They usually fail because they isolate the businesses already along the street limiting exposure and name recognition. Beyond that, people are not going to walk down a street just because it was made to walk down. There has to be a real sustainable draw.

That area on 8th however is already a draw. This is an instance where it might work really well because it is already filled with people. I would caution making the pedestrian only section as short as possible at first to concentrate focus. Dress it really well with lights and great seating and tables. Then as demand arises expand.

Either way this new tower, as opposed to that sad hole, will breathe new life into an already thriving section of Boise. Congrats.

Thanks for the comment livedowntown, you have some good points. I think the pedestrian only section would be great for a one block length between Bannock and Idaho Streets and then in the future possibly extend it from Idaho Street to Main Street where the new tower is at. 8th Street, as you mentioned is a major draw and many Boiseans feel it is the heart of downtown. The block between Bannock and Idaho is a great pedestrian corridor with a narrow lane for autos but already has wide brick sidewalks, the fancy streetlamps, trees, and almost every business along that block is a restaurant/bar/coffee shop with ample seating on the sidewalks. I like your idea for lights and seating for the middle section that would be converted from street use to pedestrian use. The bike lane is already there so filling in the street with bricks, trees, and more seating would be a win win. This block is often closed to autos for events and pedestrians have the right of way, jaywalking (at least from what I have been told) is ok. Whenever I happen to drive through that block I always have to stop and wait for pedestrians crossing the street like they own it


The block between Idaho and Main, which is also pedestrian oriented, (most of downtown is actually) has a nice wide bricked sidewalk on the east side much like the other block and it looks like the new sidewalk along the tower will be pretty narrow. This block also has the narrow one way lane for autos and has a lot of restaurants and such so in time it would be really nice to have both blocks closed off. The length of 8th from Bannock by the Statehouse all of the way south through The Grove Plaza and BoDo to the river is a major pedestrian/cycling corridor connecting the heart of downtown to the Boise River Greenbelt and BSU. I like how this stretch is heavy with the pedestrians and bikes and not so heavy with automobiles.


Here is a recent news article about closing 8th, but no mention of filling in the one way lane.
http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/ccdc-ta...ighth-street-closure/Content?oid=2855681

CCDC Talks About 'Possible' Eighth Street Closure
'It's our street. We're the ultimate decision-maker on that street'








edit: This photo Sawtooth posted today shows a section of 8th Street south of The Grove Plaza in BoDo. This block is unique in that there is angle parking on the east side. This section would probably never become pedestrian only.

Originally Posted by Sawtooth

[boisecynic]

8th Street south of The Grove Plaza in BoDo. This block is unique in that there is angle parking on the east side. This section would probably never become pedestrian only.

I hope everyone remembers 8th Street Marketplace before Bodo. The ingress and egress was horrible even before the Front/Myrtle couplet. Part of Bodo's success was the new access for cars.

[boisecynic]

Found these 8th Street before and after pics at CCDC's site in PDF form, converted to jpeg and embedded for your viewing ease.
Source: http://www.ccdcboise.com/UseOf8thSt/BeforeAndAfterPictures.aspx

[Cottonwood]

Thanks for the photos boisecynic. The transformation of what used to be and what is there currently is amazing. That Falks store was fugly, was that a facade placed over a historic building?

[boisecynic]

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

Thanks for the photos boisecynic. The transformation of what used to be and what is there currently is amazing. That Falks store was fugly, was that a facade placed over a historic building?

Apparently that was a facade. See this:

http://www.boisebyburns.com/?page=single...IsLast=&isLastInSlice=0&isFirstInSlice=0

[Boisebro]

i miss dublin up!

[Hawk]

Just noticed that they're finally covering up the turret with Glass. The facade is so close to being Done!

[Architecture Buff]

6-28-13 photos of 8th&Main Tower:











Air Handler Section


Parking Garage Grate Detail

[Architecture Buff]

7-5-13:

[Hawk]

Update Photo added to front page of this thread. The glass wall is almost completed

[Boisebro]

can't wait to see the whole facade completed.

i am curious, though:

1 - i wonder when the external service elevator will be removed and the south facade completed

2 - i wonder when the crane will be taken down and the east facade completed

3 - i wonder when the spire will be done

4 - i wonder when the tarp covering the top two floors will be removed so we can see the completed crown

5 - i wonder if the retail levels will be completed before the end of the year and the new restaurants opened, or if we'll have to wait until winter

6 - i wonder if that off-color panel on the south garage facade will be addressed

7 - i wonder what the nighttime lighting for this building will look like

8 - i wonder if the remaining office space will be accounted for when the building officially opens

9 - i wonder if elconquistador will reply to this post

10 - i wonder why i don't wonder things in odd numbers

so i'm curious.

[Architecture Buff]

Photos from July 10,2013 and Cam pics from July 11,2013:

[Sawtooth]