Meridian thinks big with health science/tech corridor 

Meridian economic development officials have targeted health sciences and technology businesses, and education entities, for much of the city’s east section.

That’s a long-term play in an economy now short of on-the-move businesses of any kind, but it’s a play that the city is willing to make. Some tough going may lie ahead given the sluggish office and industrial leasing market, but many anchor businesses, institutions and developments already occupy the Health Sciences / Technology Corridor. The corridor extends from Fairview Avenue south past Overland Road and from a point west of Locust Grove Road to a point east of Eagle Road.
“The corridor is needed to attract and support complimentary businesses with ‘family-wage’ jobs – in an industry that is currently growing and will lead Idaho jobs in the coming years,” said Phil Stiffler, economic excellence coordinator for Meridian. The corridor “communicates a message of credibility, positioning and commitment to entities that look to locate, expand or grow in a positive environment in a planned process.”
“Medical tenants are, generally speaking, in more of an expansionary mode as compared to other industries,” said Al Marino, office property broker with Thornton Oliver Keller in Boise.
“Short-term, it is being impacted by the economy just like every other industry,” office property broker Guy Levingston of Intermountain Commercial Real Estate, Boise, said of the medical office market. “In the long run, this is a great place to be.” Health care often rebounds from downturns more quickly than other industries, because demand is steady, he said.
Medical practitioners often locate near hospitals and near other practitioners, said Greg Brown of Sage Construction, Caldwell. “It makes sense to facilitate and encourage that,” he said.
Brown is completing a Hickory Avenue office building (developer: Tim Opp) that is marketed to medical practitioners, among other market segments.
Across Hickory, developer Dennis Baker’s Pinebridge project – where Baker envisions a medical and technology campus – is under way. One medical entity and one “pure technology” business are showing strong interest in Pinebridge, he said, declining to name them. A soon-to-be completed segment of the east-west Pine Street will connect Pinebridge to Eagle Road to the east and Locust Grove Road to the west.
Baker is a big believer in the medical / technology segment of the economy. Idaho has lost many highly paid jobs to corporate relocation and downsizing – including tech-sector contraction – and the state is “sinking to the bottom of the 50 states in so many categories,” he said.
“What else can we afford to lose? The way we grow it is medically related,” he said.
A larger education, research, and specialty technology sector is needed to grow the med-tech sector, Baker said. Idaho State University’s plans to grow its Treasure Valley offerings in the health sciences bode well, he said.
Existing anchors to the Meridian Health Sciences / Technology Corridor, Stiffler said, include St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center, Blue Cross of Idaho, the new Complex Care Hospital, many health care and high-tech businesses, and large office developments. Idaho State University plans to occupy a large space in the former Jabil Circuit building off Interstate 84 in about a year.
“Components exist to provide key foundational pieces for growing health sciences medical and technology center,” he said.
Meridian unveiled the Health Sciences / Technology Corridor early this year. The city Comprehensive Plan did not change. Stiffler said the corridor “adds design, overlay distinction, and integrated business mixes and services” expected to benefit existing businesses and new businesses, he said.
The outlook is good “if we seize the opportunity,” Stiffler said. The corridor represents “a proactive, significant approach to growing, attracting and developing positive economic opportunity in a stable and growing industry segment which is the leader in the economic engine of the future. This action is a necessity for our positive, competitive and prosperous growth.”

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