Westside Urban Renewal District (2002–2026)
Boise’s Westside Urban Renewal District covers nearly 50 blocks immediately west of the downtown core. Its original master plan described an area roughly bounded by Eighth and Ninth streets on the east, 16th and 18th streets on the west, Grove Street on the south, and Washington Street on the north. The precise district boundary varies from those general descriptions and was later amended. Westside includes a portion of the central business district, the Linen District along Grove Street, and residential blocks toward its western edge. Its location links downtown offices and shops with the North End, the State Capitol area, and neighborhoods farther west.
The district was established in 2002, with revenue allocation budget years running from 2003 through 2026. Its planning grew from Boise’s 1993 Downtown Boise Plan and from redevelopment underway in the adjacent Central and River Myrtle districts. At the time, Westside contained many surface parking lots and had seen relatively little new development. City leaders and CCDC viewed it as the next area for downtown’s growth. The district’s tax allocation area is scheduled to sunset in September 2026.
Westside’s master plan called for more than new buildings. Its strategies included adding a range of housing choices, encouraging offices and shops alongside residential uses, and making streets comfortable for walking and cycling. It sought to preserve valued historic buildings and the existing street grid, place new buildings along streets, improve public open space, and provide shared parking so surface lots would not continue spreading into residential blocks. The plan also called for greater building intensity near the downtown core, with development scaled to fit the neighborhoods at the district’s edges. CCDC used public infrastructure projects, property transactions, and partnerships with private developers to carry out those goals.
The district changed as opportunities emerged. In 2019, Boise considered adding land that included the downtown YMCA and Boise High School properties. A 2020 boundary amendment added approximately 14 acres, allowing CCDC to work within the expanded area beginning in 2021. That change later became significant to plans involving the YMCA and agency-owned land near State and Jefferson streets.
One of Westside’s defining public-space projects is Cherie Buckner-Webb Park at 11th and Bannock streets. Created through a public-private partnership, the park replaced a half-block surface parking lot. Construction began in October 2020, and the park was completed in July 2021. It gave residents, workers, and visitors a gathering place in a district where the master plan had identified a need for public open space. Nearby development includes the 11th & Idaho office building, which CCDC supported through its participation program.
CCDC also made substantial investments in Westside’s streets and connections. Rebuild 11th Street improved the corridor between State and Grove streets for people walking and cycling while addressing streetscape and utility needs. Work on Grove Street’s Linen Blocks coordinated street improvements with new private investment, including Hotel Renegade, an eight-story, 122-room hotel at 1110 W. Grove St. Bannock Street improvements between 12th and 16th streets were designed to strengthen the connection between the West Downtown neighborhood and the city center; the section from 13th to 16th streets was completed in September 2025, with the final block advancing in 2026.
Housing and building reuse have been other parts of the district’s work. CCDC partnered on projects such as North End Lofts at 16th and State streets, a seven-story building with 104 homes, including 38 rent-restricted units, and ground-floor retail. The agency also supported restoration of the historic Smith Block at 1015 W. Main St. These projects reflect the plan’s interest in bringing more residents downtown while retaining useful older buildings.
CCDC’s large, late-stage undertaking is 1010 Jefferson. CCDC began planning in 2024 to replace its property at 1010 W. Jefferson St. with a mixed-use public parking facility. Construction began in July 2026. Plans call for approximately 446 parking spaces, five ground-floor commercial condominiums, and a condominium for the Treasure Valley YMCA’s Kissler Family Early Education Center. The project is intended to add parking capacity while bringing businesses and childcare to the street level.
As its revenue allocation period reaches its scheduled end in 2026, Westside encompasses completed public spaces, streets, housing and commercial partnerships, as well as projects still under construction. Together, they show how CCDC applied the district’s original strategies across nearly 25 years: extending downtown westward through connected streets, a mix of uses, public amenities, and coordinated public and private investment.