Rebuild Old Boise Blocks
On Grove Street

Grove Street between 4th Street and 5th Street, looking west. Photo credit: Matthew Wordell.

CCDC’s Rebuild Old Boise Blocks on Grove Street is nearing completion. The roadway has reopened to vehicle traffic, and Guho Corp. is working on completing the remaining punch list items by the end of October. The streetscapes along Grove Street in front of the new public space at 521 W Grove Street will be completed in conjunction with this project, which is anticipated to start construction in February 2025.

We appreciate your patience and support during the construction of Rebuild Old Boise Blocks on Grove Street. A big thank you goes out to project partners Guho Corp., design team led by Jensen Belts Associates, and ACHD and the City of Boise for their collaboration on this project.

Rebuild Old Boise Blocks brought a host of roadway and placemaking improvements that will further assist the revitalization of this historic neighborhood and support the growing number of residents and private developments. In all, Rebuild Old Boise Blocks accomplished the following:

• Improvements to pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure to enhance safety and connectivity, featuring raised intersections and bulb-outs for easier navigation and visibility.
• Streetscape enhancements, including wider sidewalks and unique amenities, such as locally sourced sandstone benches, event power bollards, an electric vehicle charging station, increased pedestrian lighting, and the addition of 44 trees.
• Utility upgrades including a new water main, stormwater system improvements, and expanded fiber optic access.
• Installation of two public artworks in partnership with Boise City Department of Arts & History to celebrate the area’s heritage and honor the agricultural significance of the Old Boise Blocks.

• • “Crossroads of Boise” by Mungo Ligoya – a series of ten cast bronze inlays in the Grove Street sidewalk with artworks that represent national flowers from the Basque Country, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Idaho, Japan, and Mexico, together highlighting important moments in Boise’s immigration history to date.
  • “Clepsydra” by Bobby Zokaites – inspired by the existing waterwheel at C.W. Moore Park, the sculpture features a central wheel and repetition of form to reference the sheer number of waterwheels originally used to irrigate Boise and Grove Street. Water and wheels were also used throughout history and across the world to measure time. This sculpture is modeled after ancient water clocks known as “clepsydras”. These six unique water-carrying vessels represent the evolution and beauty of human ingenuity as well as the immigrant populations who developed this neighborhood including: Russian, German, Japanese, Chinese, Basque, and Swedish.

Background

The Old Boise neighborhood has experienced several transitions over the last 150 years as Boise grew and technology evolved. Its agricultural origins featured open canals and water wheels along Grove Street, and the neighborhood was where many of Boise’s founders and prominent citizens called home. As industry grew with the new railway through downtown, a diverse neighborhood emerged where a blend of nationalities lived and worked together. In the mid-twentieth century, the automobile gave way to a desire for paved roadways and areas to park cars. The canals were moved underground, and the neighborhood saw a rise in parking lots and commercial uses.

While the area has seen significant change, the throughline in each of these transitions is that the Old Boise Blocks have been, and continue to be, a neighborhood where people want to live and experience downtown Boise together.

Old Boise Neighborhood Reinvestment

In 2020, Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC) worked with adjacent property owners, neighbors, stakeholders, and the public to develop a collaborative, community-supported vision for the area as a driver in the overall placemaking and reinvestment strategy for the Old Boise Blocks on Grove Street.

Through this collaborative process, several reinvestment strategies and community desires emerged. These included:

• Strong support for a Grove Street that serves as a safe and convenient link between downtown and the eastern neighborhoods.
• Celebration of the neighborhood’s multi-cultural importance and carrying forward the values of inclusivity and cultural traditions
• Investment in the deficient infrastructure and make improvements that support the reemerging mixed-use neighborhood.
• Public-private partnerships to increase economic activity and further energize the neighborhood.

Since the completion of this visioning process, CCDC has entered several public-private partnerships in the neighborhood to realize the goals defined by stakeholders. CCDC has assisted with the consolidation of parking into a single public parking garage at the Home2Suites hotel, which enables surrounding surface-level parking lots to support infill development. This investment has resulted in 174 residences, of which 60 are attainable to individuals earning 80% AMI.