Boise Concrete Blueprint: Identifying and Addressing Issues

In a city like Boise, it’s not uncommon to see construction sites dotting the landscape. But a project that aims to reduce disruption to daily life in downtown is getting attention.

The project involves a review of the city’s zoning code. Currently, there are 20 classifications that sit in five buckets: open land, residential, commercial, industrial and specialty zones for healthcare, Boise State University and pedestrian commercial.

1. Physical Characteristics

The city’s Comprehensive Plan lays out a vision for the future of Boise. It breaks the city into geographic planning areas with policy guidance for each area. The plan also contains a future land use map that shows where the city expects development to occur over time.

Save on Boise Concrete Contractors: Patio, Driveway, Sidewalk

The new zoning code reworks the city’s current set of rules, first adopted in 1966 and changed bit by bit over the years. It consolidates the current twenty classifications into three main buckets: residential, commercial and a new-to-the-code ‘pedestrian commercial’ zone. The open land, industrial and specialty zones stay intact, but many of the formerly residential areas now allow some commercial uses and vice versa.

Keane says the code may make it easier – and less expensive – for developers to build the types of projects he cites, because they don’t require a public process to obtain a permit or negotiate with the city. However, he points out that it won’t eliminate the need for the city to review such proposals, and to hold public meetings with residents.

2. Functional Characteristics

Boise Concrete Blueprint is a unique project on several fronts. Its design features the first use of shear walls in Idaho made from VersaWorks veneer-laminated timber panels, and it incorporates HempWol batts for thermal and acoustical insulation.

The project also has a novel relationship to the city’s planning process. Boise’s Comprehensive Plan, Blueprint Boise, sets broad policy guidelines for development across the city; zoning and neighborhood plans apply these policies to individual geographic planning areas.

But a successful implementation of Blueprint Boise requires more than a thorough understanding of the city’s planning processes and requirements. It also requires a flexible design approach that is sensitive to the unique challenges of building with new materials. Achieving that has required a lot of teamwork. “It’s been challenging and non-linear,” says Ward. “Not the traditional buttoned-up plan and spec book.” But the experience has been educational, he adds. “It’s helped me understand how difficult it is to introduce new materials.” Blazing greener trails has its challenges.

3. Environmental Characteristics

A variety of environmental measures are used to reduce the Project’s emissions. These include:

For the first time, shear walls of Boise Cascade’s VersaWorks veneer-laminated timber panels were incorporated for their superior strength and durability, while HempWool batts from Hempitecture were used for thermal and acoustic insulation. Ninety percent of the steel for the project’s exposed chevron braced frames was salvaged from the steel fabricator’s “boneyard” and was re-purposed to save cost and materials.

Adam Cook is Vice President of Construction Materials for Sunroc’s Utah and Wyoming regions. He has 20+ years of experience in ready-mix concrete and aggregates, starting at sister company Geneva Rock before moving on to Sunroc.

4. Social Characteristics

Public art can bring attention to a street, building or other location and set a tone for the area. It may be a mural, sculpture or mosaic, and it can either be privately or publicly funded.

The building owner of the Idaho Building, which is located in downtown Boise, first got approval for a basement renovation project in 2018, but the work has been plagued by delays. Construction slowed down after an e-scooter flipped over plastic barriers in the Union Block alley and fell into a hole where crews were excavating.

In 2022, a construction schedule was finally agreed upon. However, Howell told Boise Dev that he hoped to get the digging done by spring patio season, but delays like the need to reroute a waterline and difficulties excavating under supporting one of the building’s columns caused the timeline to slip. The project was eventually finished by late-2022. The contractor, Roundhouse Development, also did site work and paving for the project in addition to excavating the basement.

Boise Concrete Blueprint: Identifying and Addressing Issues In a city like Boise, it’s not uncommon to see construction sites dotting the landscape. But a project that aims to reduce disruption to daily life in downtown is getting attention. The project involves a review of the city’s zoning code. Currently, there are 20 classifications that sit…