BOISE, Idaho — More than $683,000 in city funding is headed to five Boise neighborhoods for projects ranging from playground improvements and traffic safety upgrades to neighborhood signage and community gathering spaces.
The City of Boise announced the recipients of its 2027 Neighborhood Investment Awards on Thursday, awarding a total of $683,105 to neighborhood associations selected through the city's Neighborhood Investment Program.
The program, part of Boise's Energize Our Neighborhoods initiative, supports community-driven projects intended to improve quality of life, neighborhood identity and connectivity.
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One of the larger awards will fund improvements at Hawthorne Elementary School in the Vista Neighborhood.
The Vista Neighborhood Association received $150,000 for a playground upgrade, with the Boise School District matching the funding. Together, the partners plan to invest roughly $300,000 into a new playground designed to better serve students and nearby residents.
"It's going to be great for our neighborhood because it creates an extra green space in our neighborhood where there currently isn't one," said Mia Russell, president of the Vista Neighborhood Association.
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Russell said many families living east of Vista Avenue currently have limited access to neighborhood green space without crossing a major roadway.
She said the new playground will be ADA accessible and include sensory and musical elements designed to accommodate a wider range of users.
The Centennial Neighborhood Association was also selected for funding, receiving $60,000 for neighborhood identity signage throughout west Boise.
The award marks the second consecutive year the neighborhood association has secured city funding. Last year, Centennial received more than $200,000 for improvements to the Hobble Creek Pathway, a heavily used corridor connecting residents to schools, parks and other destinations.
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Kathy Graham, president of the Centennial Neighborhood Association, said projects funded through the program benefit more than just residents living nearby.
"What we're proposing and what we're moving forward with will benefit the entire population," Graham said. "It's not just something for our particular neighborhood. It's something that benefits everyone."
According to city officials, neighborhood associations submitted approximately $1.2 million worth of project requests this year, nearly double the funding available.
Boise City Council President Meredith Stead said neighborhood leaders are often best positioned to identify local needs.
"The folks that are applying for these grants are the neighborhood experts in that neighborhood," Stead said. "We really don't necessarily know exactly what all their needs are there on the ground."
The other funded projects include a new pocket park in the Borah Neighborhood, traffic-calming improvements near schools in the Depot Bench Neighborhood, and an Open Streets event planned for southeast Boise in partnership with Boise Bicycle Project.
The city is already accepting applications for the next round of Neighborhood Investment Awards.
