GroundFloor is another piece of puzzle 

When Meridian Development Corp. was approached about providing a business incubator in its downtown center, chairman Craig Slocum said he knew it was going to be a hit.
The concept was simple. Build a space for emerging business in the community and they will set up shop, grow and stay. The new space, called The [...]

St. Jude commissions net-zero home in Boise 

Idaho’s first certified net-zero energy home is under construction in Boise.
The home is being built by Boise-based Flynner Homes, and it will serve as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s Dream Home. It will be raffled off June 27.
“The general standards are, it’s about a 1,950-square-foot, three bedroom, two bath house, with [...]

University of Idaho science building nears completion 

Work on the Life Sciences South, an 80-year-old building on the campus of University of Idaho in Moscow, is near completion.
Project manager in facilities services Guy Esser said the main focus of this project was to replace the most badly degraded pieces, and to ensure that any cast stone above building entrances was [...]

Construction Project Update – February 2010  

Ada County Benjamin Campus Remodel Phase III
EKC, Inc.
Location: West Benjamin Street in Boise
Owner: Ada County
10,000 sq. ft. remodel of existing building with elevator addition.
Architect: Lombard-Conrad Architects
Substantial completion has been reached and final punchlist activities are in progress.
BSU Aquatic Center
Layton Construction
Owner: DPW
Contract Amount: 5.4 million
Aquatic Center [...]

New construction firm shoots for the green building stars 

Rick Wilson and Mike Jenkins’ story begins with Gerry and the Dreambenders, a British era rock and roll band.
Jenkins is the Boise band’s manager, and Wilson happened to drop by a bar where the group was playing last year. He found their sound quality sub-par.
In a former life he’d been a sound manager, [...]

‘Downsizing’ may lead to age discrimination claims increase

In the current economic climate, business owners in the construction industry face difficult decisions to ensure the company remains financially viable until the economy improves. One course of action to ride this economic low tide is to reduce operating costs.

Since a company’s wage expense is likely to be its largest operating expense, reducing payroll expenses [...]

Regional Briefs – February 2010

Nuszer Kopatz Urban Design Associates has joined Stanley Consultants, one of Denver’s largest consulting engineering firms. Founded in 1913, Stanley Consultants is a multi-discipline firm that provides engineering, environmental and construction services throughout the United States and around the world. Stanley Consultants has offices in Boise. Stanley Consultants President Gayle Roberts said, “The acquisition will [...]

Walgreens, Les Schwab to go up in Kuna

Kuna is an anomaly in the Treasure Valley.
Last year, while homebuilding ground to a halt just about everywhere else, the number of homes built in Kuna rose 20 percent over 2008 to 240 homes.
And commercial developers have taken note of the population growth.
Plans for a Walgreens that had at one point [...]

House flipping: Rule change makes things easier for investors 

Chadwick Taylor first got into real estate investing for the money.
That was in February 2008, and he quickly learned that money isn’t a good enough reason to stay in the business.
“The money’s not always there,” he said. “The market changes so fast that you can’t always depend on money being there, so [...]

ESI finishes BSU’s CESED building with new permeable air barrier 

Climbing from one level of Boise State’s new Center for Environmental Science and Economic Development, layers of its progress peel away.
On the first floor, the interior is starting to take shape: drywall is up and finishing touches are being applied to mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.
Gradually, drywall then insulation and technical systems [...]