Boardwalk riverfront mixed-use project coming to Garden City

The Boardwalk, a riverfront luxury apartment and retail project, is coming to the greenbelt in Garden City. The project developer, Vida Properties of Boise, broke ground today, with Garden City Mayor John Evans being one of the shovel-wielders.

“This is really something different,” Vida Properties spokesperson Mike Talbot explained to the Idaho Business Review. “The Boardwalk will be the first multi-family high-rise apartments on the Boise River. It doesn’t have just the usual amenities; it has amenities plus-plus.”

Talbot described firepits and grills in the court yard and on the sixth-floor outdoor amenities decks. The deck will also have Jacuzzis and common spaces including kitchen facilities. The fourth floor will house a pub and the fifth floor will include an open-air plaza. The three wings of the mixed-use project will wrap around a 16,000-square-foot courtyard and plaza area fronting the greenbelt with restaurants, bars and retail.

“There will be 21,000 square feet of retail space,” Talbot commented. “There will be a beach area along the greenbelt. A pub and sports bar will also front onto the greenbelt.” The complex will also include its own pickleball courts. Retail stores and eateries will be on the courtyard level as well as on the fourth and fifth floors.

The centerpiece of the project is the boardwalk itself. The planked walkway will rise from the sidewalks and greenbelt frontage channeling flow between the river and the central plaza and retail establishments. The project will be designed to be pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly.

The project will be approximately 400,000 square feet, Talbot reported. The housing will include around 40% of what he called “studio-plus” units as well as approximately 35% one-bedroom apartments. The remainder will be two-bedroom apartments. Apartment footprints will vary between 525 to 1,500 square feet.

The general contractor is Andersen Construction of Boise. While Talbot could not disclose financial details, he did mention that funding for the project was from Idaho sources as opposed to out-of-state investors.

Phase one of the project will be the four-story south wing of the Boardwalk complex. This wing will have 96 residential units and two retail spaces. It is scheduled to be complete by the summer of 2022. Phase two will see the construction of the remaining west and north wings, including 134 further residential units, six more retail spaces and the 16,000-square-foot open public courtyard and plaza area fronting the greenbelt and Boise River.