Garden City, the Geo-Center of Metropolitan Boise….
Garden City has many hidden attributes…. obviously. Driving west on Chinden Boulevard is likely the fastest connection from downtown Boise to points west… Eagle Road, HP Printing Headquarters, Eagle, Meridian, Star and many other destinations. With the recent highway improvements on Chinden between HP and Eagle Road, the anticipated future use is quite obvious. After all, 165,000 vehicles per day can’t all be wrong.
Glenwood to Cole is the major north / south connector. No one can overlook Veterans’ Parkway as the best link from northern areas of Boise. But then up the hill on Curtis to the connector is a snappy way somewhere….Nampa, Caldwell, the airport, to scenic Mountain Home and all points east.
One might ask why Garden City is likely a sound consideration for retail investors. The three top answers are obvious ….location, location, location. Perched smack dab in the middle Boise, West Boise, the Bench, Meridian and Eagle, this is the place for change. Now Garden City has the appearance of many suburban pathways out of town, but that is beginning a rapid transition…. and for the better. Hopefully, few changes initiated by necessity deliver a worse condition. Although local highways could get worse, and Ada County could be a reasonable place to observe that, but not in Garden City.
For the purpose of this consideration, examine any map of the greater Boise Metro area. Conceptually the total area is an elongated oval with recent expansion to the west. Mountains to the north; desert to the south. Boise proper, to the eastern sector, is perched just above the newly renovated regional airport. On the western edge Caldwell covers a major portion of the picture. Nampa is down at the 7:00 slot. Meridian, in the middle covers a lot of territory, and strategically located to all of these is a quasi-non plus area called Garden City. Such a refreshing name!
The month of August is fair time all around the USA, and with the big Western Idaho Fairgrounds in Garden City, everyone knows exactly where it is. Perhaps one of the least likely inquiries heard in southwest Idaho is “how do I get to Garden City… where the fairgrounds are.” No locals asks that question, we all know where it is, and it is virtually impossible to get anywhere without going through, or over Garden City. It is in the center of the map… in the middle of everything!
But say you were interested in investing in retail or commercial properties. What does Garden have to go along with their ideal, central location. The first thing any experienced investor would consider is the current zoning requirement.
Try this link to the city’s Zoning Map….
Currently the Zoning Map shows a major portion of the area to be a darker grey shading indicating C-2 or area business district…basically most any type of clean offices or support shops have been allowed. Even a few not so clean have gotten by. Along the main drag, or Chinden Boulevard we see the zoning requirement being ‘Neighborhood Business District.’ This appears to be a less specific term to permit anything from RV Sales, used automobile lots and repair shops to some lower rate motels…. and none of which vaguely reinforce a neighborhood’s stability.
Enough of the obvious. Let’s look forward. Alas! Garden City’s new approved Land Use Plan is far more colorful and stimulating. Changes are in the air! Let’s take a look.
We easily see a stated, visual emphasis on intersections of these major arterials with proposed requirements for mixed usages. Along Chinden Boulevard these major intersections will soon be focused on “Transit Oriented Development.” Why not? That is where the cars are moving and should be encouraged to slow down, stop and buy something, for Pete’s sake!
Along Adams Street we now see the requirement for “Mixed Use Residential,” which calls to mind ‘do something in our neighborhood. The development of new and more affordable housing will be among the major changes in the new character of Garden City.
Notice that there is a new special area on the eastern end of Chinden Boulevard that spells out “live, work / create.” That should give us an idea that the imagination is strongly encouraged in Garden City. It is now time be different.
Another large and distinctive area is labeled ‘Special Opportunity Area.’ One might get the feeling that something special should happen there. It is so much more inviting than the boring ‘Area Business District’ that has produced the existing conditions.
What is blatantly obvious is that Garden City sees itself in a totally new image. That, plus its central location is a strong indication that this is a place to participate--versus sitting back and watching others make the changes. Garden City clearly has a bright economic future, and it is based on its central geographic relationship to the surrounding communities. There is now an obvious advantage to being in the middle of the road.
Joel “Tick” Vicars is an Associate Broker with Selequity Real Estate - Boise, ID. Trained as an architect with experience in Urban Design, he has substantial background in working with governmental agencies on issues ranging from growth management to private entitlement projects for Corporate entities in Washington, California, New Mexico and Idaho. His areas of personal interest include evolution of urban form, cultural migrations and cooperative entitlements planning.
“Tick” may be contacted at 208.853.9412 or e-mailed @ JVicars@selequity.com