Boise will hold off on conducting hearings on a proposed Boise Hawks (Short Season A; Northwest League) ballpark project, with the decision coming at the developer’s request.
Last year, Greenstone Properties–where Hawks co-owner Chris Schoen is a partner–reached terms with St. Luke’s Health System on an 11-acre site at Americana Boulevard and Shoreline Drive, with the intent of using it for a new ballpark and surrounding development. Greenstone will seek approval to rezone several parcels for the project, but a rezoning hearing has not been scheduled.
Greenstone is also looking to submit a conditional use permit application, which should provide more information about the project, and have Boise officials consider that at the same time as the rezoning request. A hearing could take place within the coming months. More from The Idaho Statesman:
A Planning and Zoning hearing on the project is likely to occur late this summer or in early fall, Geoff Wardle, Greenstone’s local attorney, said Thursday. The City Council would decide the matter within a few months after that.
Greenstone applied for the rezoning — to the city’s designation that allows the most intense uses — separately. That raised concerns among opponents of the stadium. They worried that authorizing the rezoning without project details attached to it would expose the city to a variety of commercial uses not anticipated in the stadium proposal.
“We think this is the proper thing to do,” said Gary Michael, co-chair of anti-stadium group Concerned Boise Taxpayers.
Concerned Boise Taxpayers still opposes the project, Michael said.
KTVB first reported the delay of the rezoning application.
Schoen and Jeff Eiseman co-own the Hawks through Agon Sports & Entertainment, and the pair is behind SRP Park–the new North Augusta, SC home of the Augusta GreenJackets (Low A; Sally League). SRP Park is a new ballpark positioned as the anchor of a larger development concept, and a similar plan is being pitched for Boise. The new Hawks ballpark would be a centerpiece of the development and be designed to host multiple types of events, including soccer.
The cost estimate for the Boise ballpark is $36 million. Greenstone would provide $1 million in cash and donate four acres of land, with the city and the Greater Boise Auditorium District combining for about $8 million. The rest would be covered by a 20-year bond borrowed by Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC), the city’s urban renewal agency. Greenstone would be expected to add at least $60 million in development surrounding the ballpark, with property taxes from the development and annual ballpark rent payments covering the CCDC’s debt.
Rendering courtesy Greenstone Properties.
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