Locate Idaho New Subdivisions

Developer Mark Rivers wants to drop a “bomb of development” with his $200 million Library Blocks mixed-use development that will stretch south of BoDo to the Boise River, and he hopes city and business leaders will follow suit with other well-defined, sustainable neighborhoods in Boise. He noted in a speech to the City Club of Boise today that the Treasure Valley is expected to be home to more than 1 million people by 2020, which has the potential to produce additional urban sprawl that will affect air quality, traffic and quality of life.

“If you think you can stop this growth, it’s coming,” he said. “We have to be smart with how we react to their arrival. Infill development is the answer clearly.”

Rivers, whose development firm Brix & Co. spearheaded the $60 million BoDo retail hub south of Boise’s downtown core, laid out a vision of what city leaders should do over the next five to 10 years to sustain the valley’s economic vitality and quality of life. He offered four major suggestions:

• Dramatically expand the role of BSU in the community, which he described as a potential “economic powerhouse.” He cited the University of Utah’s tech transfer program, which led to the creation of 17 companies last year. “We spun out none,” he said. “We don’t have any programs like that.”

• Make plans for a streetcar system a reality. Mayor Dave Bieter’s plan to build a $40 to $50 million trolley system within four years could lead to the creation of more neighborhoods with a “sense of place,” such as BoDo or the future Library Blocks neighborhood, he said. “We need to be thinking of our downtown as pods,” he said.

• Take advantage of the residential market downturn. “Be ready for when the market turns positive again,” he said. “We should not be sitting back on our hands and waiting for the market to turn and starting from a standing stop.” He suggested that city leaders spend time in “training camp,” for example, by forming a working group to identify downtown properties that could be acquired at deflated prices and developed as neighborhoods and to explore public/private partnerships.

• Build on the heritage of entrepreneurism and innovation in Idaho. He cited the state of Maryland’s recent announcement of a $1.1 billion, 10-year investment in biosciences and said, “We’re competing with the state of Maryland. We need to find ways to make investments. … We have a mistaken view here in Idaho that investment in corporations is somehow corporate welfare.” Rivers said Idaho could build on a legacy of business investment in alternative energy and agriculture/foodservices technology. “We need to have the cluster mentality.”