Six-story building planned at Fourth and Myrtle

A Boise developer is planning a six-story building for office and retail in the Central Addition near downtown Boise that could become the home for a Boise technology company, though agreements aren’t yet final.

The proposed 158,440-square-foot building would take up the western half of the block surrounded by Fourth and Third streets and Myrtle and Broad streets, an area that currently has one house, built in 1893, and surface parking.

The main tenant for the building could be CradlePoint, though a spokesman for the technology company said leaders couldn’t comment on the project and that no agreements had been signed. Scot Ludwig, manager for the property owner Broad Street Properties, said in a letter to city planners that the building is for Cradlepoint, and that the company could move from Boise to Meridian if the building doesn’t get quick approval from the city.

“Cradlepoint is at a critical decision-making process and must have the building constructed with availability to move in by October 2015,” Ludwig said in his letter. Ludwig did not respond to a request for comment. Renderings for the building also include CradlePoint’s logo.

Cradlepoint has 200 employees in the Treasure Valley. CEO George Mulhern told the Idaho Business Review in August that the growing company is looking for new office space, so that more of its employees can work in one building.

The building would have office, retail and parking space on the ground floor and offices on the top three floors, with parking sandwiched on the second and third floors. The development would have no surface-level parking and might have several storefront entry points and space for outdoor plazas, according to a letter to the city from the project’s architect, Danielle Weaver with CSHQA in Boise.

The building also needs a height variance, since it’s zoned for a space with a 35-foot height limit, though Weaver’s letter points out that the building would be consistent with the nearby Idaho Independent Bank building. That letter also says that there were no retail tenants under contract as of the end of September, though it is being marketed to potential tenants.

The proposed building’s height variance and conditional user permit for retail will be taken up by the Boise City Planning and Zoning Commission on Nov. 3 and the Boise City Design Review Committee will consider the project on Nov. 12.