EAGLE, Idaho — The future of a well-known event space along Highway 16 is still up for debate — and for the neighbors who live closest to it, the stakes feel personal.
The 5-acre property at 3705 North Highway 16 — about 1,290 feet north of the intersection of West Beacon Light Road and Highway 16 — has a long history of community use. The site previously operated as The Winery at Eagle Knoll, then as the Flats 16 event center, and most recently housed First Miracle Boutique and a restaurant. Existing structures on the property include a former restaurant, a former winery and banquet hall, an office building, a restroom facility, a storage shed, and a gazebo and pavilion surrounded by open landscaped space.
Now, the land could become Woodstone at the Flats. Owner and applicant Piedra Familia, LLC, represented by James Marsh with CSHQA, is seeking to add live entertainment events to the property's existing mixed-use designation. The development would include two restaurants — Woodstone Craft Kitchen and Woodstone 99 Dinnerhouse — along with personal improvement facilities, limited retail, and office space. Planned live entertainment would include concerts, barn dances, weddings and receptions, cultural events, and seasonal attractions such as pumpkin patches and petting zoos.
Watch to learn how neighbors feel about "Woodstone on the Flats."
Susan Guidi has lived about a block away from the property for nine years. She said the property has been a part of her neighborhood's identity since she moved in.
"When we moved in, it was Flat 16. It was wonderful. Weekend nights you'd hear music. We'd walk over there and have dinner, sit on the lawn. It was great. We loved it."
Guidi said the neighborhood was disappointed when Flats 16 sold, but that First Miracle, the next operator, also tried to keep music coming to the site.
"They were a little, not as casual as Flat 16, but they still wanted to keep music coming, which this neighborhood, we love that, it's great. You know, you have the 16 right here, so to have music instead of car noise, to have a place you can walk to with your family, it's been wonderful."
She said she is enthusiastic about the new owners and attended their community meeting.
"I'm a huge fan. We went over, and we met with them, and they want to keep the grass area for families."
Guidi said the vision developers shared with neighbors for the new project appealed to her.
"Their vision that they told us was kind of like Joanna Gaines and Austin, you know, have families, have a breakfast restaurant, a steakhouse, have music. To me, this community and all communities need more of that."
On traffic concerns along Highway 16, Guidi said she is not worried, pointing to ongoing road improvements and a planned frontage road connected to the adjacent subdivision.
"They're all redoing the 16 right now, and as I understand, Goodwoods and that subdivision they're building is gonna have its own frontage road, so I don't really see that as being a problem. Safer if anything," Guidi said.
Guidi said the alternative to an event space is one she does not want to see.
"It has to be an event. It's got to be someplace we can go, otherwise it's going to be another subdivision. I mean, there's subdivisions everywhere, and we don't have any place for families to go. Here in Star, there is, I mean, you can go to Downtown Star Freedom Park, but you can't go and listen to music and get a meal and take your family. It's, we need more of that."
Although Guidi has a Star address, the approval decision belongs to Eagle's city council — a fact she said she finds frustrating given how directly the project affects her neighborhood.
"I thought it was a slam dunk. I didn't really even think they were going to have any problems with this, and they shouldn't. This is their restaurant's going to be more in Star than it has anything to do with Eagle. So it should be a Star decision, although we're not able to make it," Guidi said.
She said she plans to attend the hearing and pointed to commercial development already approved across the street as context for her position.
"Across the street, they're allowing them to build commercial, to build storage units, to build whatever they want. Keep something nice for the people of the community to enjoy. That's my feeling."
Guidi said she is hoping the venue can open by fall and urged the council to listen to the people who live nearby.
"I hope that they will listen to what people like myself are saying, what we want to live next door to, and that is something we'd enjoy."
The project is still awaiting final approval from the city of Eagle. A conditional use permit recommended by planning and zoning outlines strict limits on crowd size, hours, and the number of events. Under those conditions, events would be permitted only between May and October, with all indoor and outdoor activity required to wrap up by 10 p.m. Attendance would be capped at 200 people. Large events of more than 150 people would be limited to 2 per week and 12 per year. Smaller events of 150 people or fewer would be limited to 3 per week and 18 per year. The site would provide 153 parking spaces, just above the 151 required. Noise restrictions under the city code would prohibit public disturbance noise between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The application went through a neighborhood meeting in July 2025 before being submitted in October 2025 and revised in January 2026. On April 6, 2026, the planning and zoning commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval with conditions. Notifications were mailed to nearby property owners, posted on the site, and published in a local newspaper.
The property sits adjacent to the River Birch subdivision — formerly known as the Flats Sixteen subdivision — a development of 94 homes and townhomes with community amenities.
Access to the site would be provided through Glenora Street to the north and Perlette Way to the west, with a secondary emergency fire access point from Highway 16 to Mazzarrone Street to the south. Ada County Highway District, the Idaho Transportation Department, the Department of Environmental Quality, and Star Sewer and Water District have all reviewed the project and raised no objections.
Jason Dreben visits the area 2 or 3 times a week — his son plays golf for Owyhee High School, which uses the nearby course as its home course. On the proposed development, Dreben said his biggest concern is infrastructure.
"It's getting really, really busy. I don't know that these roads are really set up for that much traffic."
But he said that with the right improvements, the project could be a positive addition.
"I think if they make sense of it and kind of slow the traffic down, make some wider lanes or something like that, but I think if it's a fun environment for a lot of people, I think it's fantastic."
Dreben said he was encouraged to learn that the people behind the project have been in Eagle for about 30 years and already own a restaurant in the area.
"They know what's here and who's here, and they've kind of just dealt with what's coming their way, and I think at the end of the day, the population is growing, so I think they're just trying to grab a bite and make everybody happy and keep Eagle what it is. They want to keep it kind of humble and the, you know, kind of the backcountry idea, but at the end of the day, they keep growing because everything else is growing as well."
For those who may be skeptical of new development, Dreben said the key is perspective.
"You just got to kind of put yourself in other people's shoes and kind of just be very open because a lot of people do like to do certain things that other people don't like to do."
"Be excited at what's here and what's coming, you know, there's so much new development going on, and I think that everybody just needs to adapt to it or move away," Dreben said.
Eagle's city council will hold a public hearing on the project Tuesday, May 26, at 5:30 p.m. inside city hall.
