WEST BOISE, Idaho — The City of Boise has offered to buy a vacant 1.644-acre lot just off Cole Road near the Boise mall for $1.5 million.
City leaders hope to add the property to Boise’s land trust portfolio to turn it into new affordable housing.
“It’s an exciting location for us,” said Melinda McGoldrick, who leads the housing team for the city.
She said the purchase is now in a due diligence period to make sure it fits the city’s needs.
WATCH | Neighborhood Reporter Brady Caskey checks out the proposed property and similar projects in Boise—
“We’re gonna do all of the exploration and deeper surveys into that ground to make sure it’s a site that’s gonna work for our intended purpose, which is affordable housing,” McGoldrick said.
Affordable housing has been a top priority for Boise. The city recently completed two major projects — The Franklin on the Boise Bench, with 184 income-restricted units, and Wilson Station on State Street, which added 102 affordable homes.
Several residents told Idaho News 6 that the Wilson Station affordable housing project and others like it around town have kept them from falling into homelessness, though they did not want to speak on camera.
The city hopes to replicate those successes with this new property.
“The City of Boise is really committed to ensuring that there is housing that’s affordable for folks within our city, and this is just one of the tools we can use to move that forward,” she said.
If all goes according to plan, Boise will officially purchase the lot later this summer and aims to select a developer by early 2027.
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