Your definitely right. At certain angles it will always look like a shipping yard.

Every time I see that picture I get sadder that it wasn't built. Is there any chance that it could come back? What ultimately caused it not to be built? Was it the recession?

The project was delayed because of pushback from neighbors in the Chase Building, and by the time an agreement was reached, the recession hit. With the resurgent demand for apartments, and its prime location, I'm surprised it hasn't made a comeback.

I love the design, it's visually interesting and it would give that intersection a crazy level of urbanity--you'd have a nice "urban canyon" effect with the Clearwater Building and 8th and Main.

Two things I heard was the owners of the condos in now the Chase Bank building fought it as it would block their views, and second the parking in the Capital Terrace parking garage would take away a lot of spaces.
Funny, now they look at the 8th&Main tower. Living in the core of downtown high rises you would expect losing some views.
This site is prime real estate, and something should get built.
Does anyone have any info?

I wouldn't expect any spots to be lost per se. The condos were slated to be built on the roof of the Terrace, which is next to the garage. Spaces may be taken by residents but I would imagine another level could be added to the garage.

Considering The Chase building is where I took My Profile photo, I can see why they complained about their views being taken away by other new structures. It was an impressive view from such a small tower. I guess they just wanted the small town feel while they were towering over everybody else. It amazes me how the rich can be so greedy sometimes. If your not careful money can easily turn you into a nimby. It is a shame that those apartments never were built. I thought there was some chatter between developers about bringing it back. Although, I do believe that was just chatter from here at SSP a few years ago. But I do hope someone will see us talking about the failed project and bring it back to life, or something similar.

Here's an enlarged view from inside the Chase building:

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psdzuw4r5z.jpg

The wig on the wires is epic. Great shot. Lol.

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

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/0...#storylink=cpy

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."

Sunday Downtown
 

2 hotel building sites across from the Hampton Inn & Suites one 10 and the other 6 floors

Former Boise City Council member Mike Wetherell had one of the best quotes on the whole "you can't build there because it would hurt my VIEW!" complaints:

In effect: If you want a view, buy the land. Otherwise, you have no legal ground for your complaint.

Changes for the Grove
 

Possible big changes at the Grove Plaza, according to Boise Weekly:

http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/wha...nt?oid=3431225

Sweet pics Sawtooth

http://pdsonline.cityofboise.org/pds...00098&type=doc


http://pdsonline.cityofboise.org/pds...03121701245360

The Inn at 500 Capitol
 

Basement and ground floor plans from CSHQA Architects:
A few notes, roof is metal with a green patina / 24 parking spaces ( restaurant-employees) / building spans alley

I'll have to see renderings before I can make a judgement, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of the jumbotron idea. Is it going to be plastered with ads when there's not an event? Seems inevitable.

The relative lack of huge billboards and corporate advertising helps gives downtown the independent, personal vibe that it has. That's a huge asset to our city. Showy, Vegas-style billboard advertising is a poor fit, and will undermine what makes downtown a nice place to be.

Yeah, I initially thought a jumbotron doesn't sound like it would fit in the Grove either, but the Grove is going to have a completely different vibe once all this is complete. I think with the new pedestrian alley full of neon signs, a shiny new building, transit center, and already having the entrance to the Century Link Arena, a little more glitz and advertising is inevitable. Whether the direction this is going in is for the best or not is debatable, but it will offer something that is a little different, and I think it's a good thing for downtown to have some contrast. JUMP will probably end up being the new quiet low-key meeting space to replace the Grove.

And in regards to the three options they are proposing, I think the Grove must remain public. The fact that is even a question is incredibly worrisome. The Grove is downtown's focal point, and 8th St is the main north/south pedestrian route through downtown, it should always be open.

Like the both of you, without any type of rendering, it's difficult for me to visualize a jumbotron in the Grove. But Personally, I'm not too worried about it being one of its new features, if that is what is chosen out of the three options. More than likely they will not be adding anything larger then what we saw during the Idaho Potato drop. So in the end, it probably will not be too much of a problem if there is a couple ads on it. It's highly unlikely that they would be covering a whole wall with one. That would be over doing it, especially for an area the size of the Grove. But, as much as I love and cherish the state that downtown Boise and the Grove is currently in, I do enjoy the big city feel, and welcome the fact that they're updating the Grove's look.
As the events such as Alive after Five grow in popularity along with that of population growth, they will most certainly outgrow their current location. We learned that when the Hyde Park street fair had to be moved to Camel’s Back park. It will be interesting to see how ACHD deals with the increased foot traffic along Myrtle. I hope that they will have a plan in place by the time a large event is held at JUMP.

I like the Grove Plaza as it is. I even have a brick with my name on it from 31 years ago. I think redevelopment dollars could be spent better elsewhere.

This is true. I think after CCP is complete, the Grove can be as good if not better than it is now, but no matter what it'll have a very different atmosphere.

I also agree 100% with the bolded text... is it in question though? Could be wrong, but from the article or the CCDC meeting presentations I didn't see an option making it private, event-only space--just that investment would go into improving the event experience. If CCDC tried to close off the Grove, Boise voters would vote them out of existence (and it'd be an out-of-character decision for an organization that's made a lot of great moves recently). It's not a idea that could be sold to Boise voters, IMO.