Pocatello Council approves event center zone change

UPDATE: The Pocatello City Council has approved a commercial re-zone allowing Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church to proceed with construction of a new facility on 8.69 acres of land west at 1350 Baldy Ave. and east of Interstate 15. The contract will allow the center to be used by the Pocatello-Chubbuck Auditorium District as an “Events Center”.

It’s a vision that a local private school and Pocatello-Chubbuck Auditorium District have been thinking about for years an events center.

Pocatello City Hall is gathering to discuss whether the proposed event center.

The executive director of Grace Lutheran School said the goal of the center is to bring in revenue to the Gate City.

“Keep our dollars here in Pocatello, and have our community engaged in a great building here in southeast Idaho,” said Robert Raschke, executive director.

The proposed center would be about 40,000 square feet and would be surrounded by local restaurants and hotels.

This project would also be funded by a bed tax, which comes from local hotels.

“Planning and zoning has heard our, has received our application already for a contract rezone and also a conditional use permitting we did have public comment at that time. Comments were shared with that board, and that commission already,”
said Raschke.

The main point of this project is to host trade shows and athletic events.

Before the project can move forward, the city Planning and Development Services Department had to re-zone the proposed location.

“The zoning, the residential commercial professional, does not allow a major event center. They have to re-zone it. So the contract is specifically commercial general for that use, for the major event center,” said Matthew Lewis, the planning division manager.

The cost on this project has not yet been announced. If the center is approved, Grace Lutheran School would own it and lease it out to the Chubbuck Auditorium District.