EAGLE, Idaho β Megan Hoiosen has owned Sweet Tea Living in downtown Eagle since 2017, operating for a little over eight years in the historic old Eagle Hotel building. She's been an Eagle resident for over 20 years after being born and raised in Boise.
"We have loved being in the downtown [Eagle] area. Construction started about 2, 2.5 years ago, so it started with private construction around us with the roads closed, and then ACHD's project came after that," Hoiosen said.
The extended construction period presented significant challenges for local businesses.
Watch to see the ribbon cutting of Downtown Eagle and what's next for neighbors.
"It's definitely a struggle as a small business with construction all around you," Hoiosen said.
Despite the difficulties, Hoiosen praised the communication efforts from the Ada County Highway District throughout the construction process.
"ACHD did a great job like letting us know what was happening, so I appreciated their business meetings every other week, but it was very tricky on how do we get people here. There's different road closures throughout the time, but we're just glad that we're on the other side of it," Hoiosen said.
To help customers navigate the construction zones, Hoiosen created road reports for Sweet Tea Living's Instagram, wearing a custom hard hat with a sticker and using different microphones for each update.
"When construction started, I was trying to find a way to let people know how can they get to our shop. So I got myself a little hard hat. I put a sticker on it and I did my own road reports. So it's been kind of this funny thing where I had a different microphone every time," Hoiosen said.
With construction now complete, Hoiosen is ready to move forward.
"I think I'm going to retire my construction hat because I feel like we're on the other side of it, but I'm sure I'll pop on every once in a while just to give people some updates about what's going on downtown Eagle," Hoiosen said.
The impact of reopening has been immediate and significant for local businesses.
"It's been a great turnout once the roads open, people have been back. We doubled our sales in the first week. It's been super fun to see people back and around, and they're saying how it's so nice to be able to get around and just feel like they can park and walk around the town, so it's really refreshing to us," Hoiosen said.
The roads opened a few weeks ago, and the positive response has continued to grow.
"We definitely saw an increase of people coming back into the shop, and it's just gotten better over time," Hoiosen said.
The barricades are gone, and the city is celebrating the official completion of the project with new sidewalks, roadways, and safety upgrades to the heart of downtown. City leaders and ACHD marked the milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony under the restored historic arch.
Rachel Bjornestad, senior public information officer for the Ada County Highway District, explained the scope of the Downtown Eagle Mobility Improvements Project.
"Today we're celebrating the completion of the Downtown Eagle Mobility Improvements Project. This is an almost 2 year project. We've been here, really transforming the Downtown Eagle area. And then today we're officially celebrating that now the construction is complete, and now we're out of the way. So the first phase started in January 2024, so it's been almost two years," Bjornestad said.
ACHD worked closely with local businesses throughout the construction period to minimize disruption.
"We've been working very closely with the Downtown Eagle businesses throughout the construction. We know that when people see orange cones, sometimes that can deter them from wanting to come explore the downtown area. So we've tried to do whatever we could to remind folks that Downtown Eagle is open and encouraging people to come and support local downtown businesses," Bjornestad said.
Mayor Brad Pike, who began his tenure as mayor when the project started, has overseen the entire two-year construction process.
"We're out here at the Jackson House off of Eagle Road in Aikens, and we're celebrating the conclusion of the Downtown Mobility Project. It was a two-year project. We collaborated efforts with ACHD, that's the main team that's doing this project, and we worked with them. We worked with our urban renewal agency," Pike said.
The mayor emphasized the significance of the restored historic arch, which serves as a symbol of the community.
"As you can see, the arch is up again, and that's our historical arch, one of a kind, and we're just happy that we have ACHD, we have the city, we have all the people that were participating in this project here today to celebrate it," Pike said.
Pike acknowledged the challenges businesses faced during the construction period.
"It was rough for the downtown businesses over these 2 years, and nobody knew what was going to be the situation at hand until you live it, right? So here's the deal: we're celebrating today the conclusion of that, and businesses are open. They're ready to serve the people and the customers that come into our community, and I'm just personally glad that that part of it's over with," Pike said.
The Ada County Highway District is now shifting from construction to revitalization efforts.
"Now that the construction is wrapped up, we are supporting businesses and helping to remind everyone that Downtown Eagle is open and hoping that people will come and support local businesses," Bjornestad said.
ACHD has launched Nest Quest, a virtual event designed to encourage people to explore and support downtown businesses.
"So we launched a virtual event called Nest Quest. We like the verbiage because it kind of signifies Downtown Eagle as the nest," Bjornestad said.
The month-long event operates through the Goose Chase app with new challenges dropping every Friday.
"It's a virtual event. It'll run all month long through the Goose Chase app, and how it works is residents can download the app, and then there are new challenges, and there's challenges all month long. They'll drop every Friday. The challenges range from checking out some of the new facilities here in downtown Eagle and then also supporting local businesses," Bjornestad said.
Examples of challenges include visiting shops, asking about specific items, and taking pictures while enjoying food or coffee from local establishments.
"An example might be coming into a shop, asking them about a certain item in their shop, and then that gets you points, or taking a picture while enjoying food from a restaurant or enjoying coffee from a coffee shop, just a way that we're hoping to spread the word that Downtown Eagle is open," Bjornestad said.
ACHD recognizes the patience businesses showed during construction.
"These businesses have been so patient throughout this whole process, and we're so appreciative, and they really are important to the downtown area, so our goal is just to encourage people to come explore and support their downtown local businesses," Bjornestad said.
The Nest Quest competition includes weekly drawings and prizes based on points earned from completing challenges.
"There are prizes, so it is a competition, so we'll do weekly drawings. And then you also have a chance to win prizes. You earn points for each challenge you do. So yeah, we really hope that people will come and support the local businesses here in downtown Eagle and come enjoy the new downtown now that the construction has wrapped up," Bjornestad said.
Hoiosen is also hosting "Shop Hop" this weekend, an event she started three years ago to promote local businesses.
"I started ShopHop about 3 years ago. It's a 3 day event, so it's starting today actually. So it's Thursday, Friday, Saturday. We have 20 different shops so people can go around, get their cards marked off on it, and then they can put in for a prize $50 gift card to any of the shops. It's just a great way to get people down here to kind of see what does Eagle offer. They don't even have to purchase anything, but it's just a great way for people to understand what does Eagle have to offer for them to shop," Hoiosen said.
Hoiosen wants the community to know that downtown Eagle retains its character despite the improvements.
"I just want everyone to know that we're excited to have them back, that they need to come back and really see the changes that have happened, but also that we still have that charm that Eagle is known for. So there's a lot of things happening that we're just excited to share with everyone," Hoiosen said.
