Catching customers with vinegar and olive oil 

Garden City soon will soon be home to Drizzle, a specialty balsamic vinegar and olive oil store that could follow the model of wine shops in luring shoppers away from grocery stores for a food staple.
But although olive oil stores have succeeded elsewhere, both Drizzle’s landlord and a University of Idaho business specialist see risk in such [...]

Commercial appraisals stabilize on existing buildings, still pose challenge for new construction 

More commercial appraisals are working out lately, at least on existing buildings. That means more loans to buy the properties are, too.

Lender and borrower hope an appraiser determines a building’s value is at or above what the prospective buyer offers to pay. Loans are based on a percentage of appraised value. When an appraisal comes [...]

Builders extend subdivision permits, await market change 

Builder-developer requests for subdivision extensions have been increasingly common in Nampa in response to the housing slowdown. 
“A lot of ground annexed in the last five to seven years was not finished into actual subdivisions in the ground,” said City of Nampa planning director Norm Holm. “Those developers are maintaining approvals, asking for extensions in anticipation [...]

Minidoka lawsuit heads to Supremes in February 

In a case that pits a dairy farm feed lot against a national historic site, Idaho Supreme Court justices will decide in February whether Jerome County did its due diligence in granting a permit to a feedlot operation that would put up to 15,000 head of cattle a mile away from a former Japanese American [...]

Karcher Mall extends mortgage, fields inquiries on Macy’s space 

The days of 30 and 40 percent vacancy rates in Karcher Mall appear to be over for now, but owners aren’t celebrating just yet.
The west Nampa mall’s official vacancy rate, 7 percent, counts the former Macy’s department store as occupied. Macy’s, which left just over two years ago for the new Nampa Gateway center at [...]

Credit Suisse in federal court over loans to luxury resorts

Attorneys for Credit Suisse told a federal judge in Idaho that a multi-billion dollar lawsuit brought by homeowners at four resorts should be tossed out because there’s not enough factual evidence to support the claims.
The lawsuit from property owners at Idaho’s Tamarack Resort, the Yellowstone Club in Montana, Nevada’s Lake Las Vegas resort and the [...]

‘You want to have a unique place to call home’ 

From her seat on the corner of 12th Avenue and 1st Street in downtown Nampa, Flying M Coffee Garage founder Lisa Myers can see small businesses coming and going around her at a rapid pace. 
Near neighbors have closed in recent weeks, including the Scavengers consignment store, which held its last day Jan. 7, Bueno Cheapo Vino, [...]

Billings, construction lag in western United States 

 
The winds of change are blowing.
Talk to Dennis Cusack, managing principal for Portland architecture firm SRG Partnership Inc., and it’s almost as if he can feel it.
“I think that’s one of the things that’s true of the entire industry – whether it’s a contractor or developer or an architect. It’s a different world out there [...]

LDS Church picks Meridian temple site 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has selected a 12.2-acre site on the west side of Linder Road north of Chinden Boulevard, Meridian, for construction of a temple. The church in April announced plans for the temple, to be the fifth in Idaho.
The temple’s size and configuration aren’t finalized, as the project is [...]

Development eyed at Boise-owned armory, industrial sites 

The long-vacant former Boise Armory northeast of downtown could serve as offices, said a developer interested in buying the city-owned site. 
If San Francisco-area firm J&M Land LLC buys the former armory on Reserve Street near Mountain Cove Road, J&M would not tear down the building as other would-be developers of the site have proposed, principal [...]