Each year, the City of Boise partners with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA Idaho). to recognize organizations, businesses, and individuals who built a new building or completed a building remodel that makes Boise safer, more accessible to residents, featured a unique design or is environmentally sustainable.
This year, the city recognized the following exemplary projects that showcase a diverse array of architecture, design, and collaboration:
Mayor’s Choice
The B Side Apartments (1019 West Main Street) – This adaptive reuse project converted 43 hotel rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the former Safari Inn into 41 studio and 1-bedroom apartments. The focus was to update and extend the life of the original 1920’s building while supplying housing to Boise downtown core.
Project work consisted of adding kitchens to each unit, expanding windows to encourage more light to fill the space, updating finishes and upgrading the buildings infrastructure. The project also included a new building façade, updating the exterior with wood slats to provide a sleek modern addition to the cityscape.
Best Overall Project
TRICA (Treasure Valley Institute for Children’s Arts) (1406 West Eastman Street) – The 12,000 sq. ft. historic building was originally completed in 1904, as the Immanuel Methodist Episcopal Church, designed by famed Boise architects Tourtellotte and Hummel. In The 1980’s, the building was sold and, over many years, fell into disrepair and became a nuisance in the North End community.
In 2007, Jon Swarthout, a 4th generation Idahoan and associate of the National Dance Institute, purchased the church building with the vision of turning it into a children’s art facility. After a 14-year grassroots fundraising campaign and construction, the building is complete with a children’s theater, dance studio and plenty of space for a preschool of the arts, youth orchestras, local choirs or visiting artists. Materials were reused as much as possible to reduce waste.
Excellence in Sustainability – Commercial
Boise State University Micron Center for Materials Research – The 92,000 sq. ft. academic and research facility is located on the Boise State University campus.
Key sustainability features include the use of both active systems such as advanced mechanical systems and high-efficiency lighting. It also highlights passive systems, including native planting and on-site water retention, natural light, a high-efficiency building envelope and designing for future adaptations to keep labs functional over the life of the building.
Excellence in Sustainability – Residential
Ironworks Cromwell Residence (605 Fort Street) – This renovation was designed to keep the historic integrity of the 1930’s house while bringing in sustainable features. The integrity of the historic exterior maintained its Tudor revival and craftsman style designs.
Sustainable features include energy-efficiency lighting and windows, high density foam insulation spray in exterior walls and roof cavity, high performance heat pump and an energy recovery ventilation system.
Excellence in Design – New Building
11th and Idaho (1100 W. Idaho Street) – The 10-story building will serve as office and retail space. The project used many green building concepts, such as choosing natural and environmentally friendly materials and installing floor to ceiling windows to provide natural daylighting of the space. All, electrical, HVAC and plumbing systems were selected for energy efficiency.
The building has a 3,500 sq. ft. rooftop deck that can be used by tenants for meetings and gatherings. In addition, the building will be complimented with more than half an acre of green space in the form of a public park that will open directly to tenant retail spaces on the first floor.
Excellence in Design – Accessibility
Ochos Wine Bar (515 W. Idaho Street) – The building was constructed around 1892 as a row house apartment building and was later remodeled into various commercial businesses. The project includes a two-level patio at the rear of the building with a ramp to provide an accessible route to the lower level and an exterior wheelchair lift to serve the upper level and the 1st story of the building.
Excellence in Creative Collaboration
Valor Pointe (4203 West State Street) – One of the first Housing First developments in Idaho, the facility is a four-story 25,147-sq. ft. building with a total of 27 units, with one for an onsite manager and 26 accessible units to house veterans formerly experiencing chronic homelessness.
Common use amenities include a community lounge, fitness room, indoor bike storage, as well as a classroom for a Veteran Affairs case worker and an office for the on- site property manager. For comfort and sustainability, the building was designed using some green building construction techniques.
The project represents careful planning and collaboration and funding from multiple financial organizations, government entities and local business and corporations.
Excellence in Design – Renovation
“The Church” (18th and Eastman) – The1927 building housed a United Presbyterian Church and over the years fell into disrepair. The project’s goal was to restore the character and historic significance of “The Church,” yet give it new life as a 5,500 sq. ft., five bedroom, three-and-half bath single-family dwelling.
The exterior of the building was meticulously preserved and renewed, including daylighting and restoring the original siding and window locations. On the interior, the great room has maintained the 22’ celling height of the original sanctuary, yet made the space feel surprisingly cozy. A kitchen island that seats a dozen and over-sized lighting fixtures help balance the proportions in this space and make it feel intimate and “right-sized.”
Modernization of School Buildings
Boise School District (multiple locations)–Three newly-built elementary schools (Pierce Park Elementary, Mountain View Elementary, and Highlands Elementary) and one recently renovated school (Maple Grove Elementary) were designed to enhance the learning environment for young students. Construction in these schools focused on enhanced safety and security, accessibility, improving space for large groups and classrooms, daylighting and incorporating energy-efficient features.
These projects demonstrate the commitment from the Boise School District to engage the community in the design of buildings that blend into the neighborhood, providing comfortable, safe, accessible, and efficient buildings for children to learn in.
For more information and to view the award winner videos, visit https://www.cityofboise.org/departments/planning-and-development-services/building/building-excellence-awards/