Boise, CdA firms want to redevelop Bonneville Hotel in Idaho Falls

Two Boise affordable housing developers and a third from Coeur d’Alene are vying to redevelop the historic Bonneville Hotel in Idaho Falls.

Thomas Development, The Housing Company, both of Boise, and Widmyer Corp. in Coeur d’Alene responded to a Feb. 7 request for proposals from the Idaho Falls Redevelopment Agency, which owns the hotel. Selection expected in August, IFRdA Chair Lee Radford said.

IFRdA officials are targeting a mix of affordable and market-rate housing for the Bonneville hotel, which was built in 1927.

Thomas Development CEO Tom Mannschreck owns The Idahoan building and the Earl Building in downtown Idaho Falls. He restored both.

The Housing Company, established by Idaho Housing and Finance Association, owns 11 affordable housing complexes in eastern Idaho but none in Idaho Falls. The Housing Company undertook a similar project in Pocatello with the historic Whitman Hotel, Director Douglas Peterson said.

Widmyer Corp. purchased a 40-unit affordable housing complex last year in Idaho Falls, its first expansion beyond Coeur d’Alene, but the company is looking at other areas of the state, said Ben Widmyer, company president and son of Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer.

All three have similar proposals for the Bonneville that don’t stray far from the RFP. They all plan to restore the original façade by removing later alterations, such as stone that was placed over windows.

All of the potential developers are talking about creating restaurant or retail space with a mix of affordable and market-rate housing on the upper floors of the five-story hotel.