Construction continues around Downtown Idaho Falls
Just try driving around downtown Idaho Falls and you might have some difficulties. But, after the construction is all over, it will mean great things for Idaho Falls.
“You can’t walk down the street without being excited about downtown,” said Catherine Smith with the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation.
Roads and sidewalks may be closed, but downtown Idaho Falls is booming. The new Broadway Development is scheduled to open this fall. Once open, there will be offices, restaurants, and underground parking.
Just up A Street, the Park Avenue Antique Building is under renovation. The owners are working to preserve the historical building.
“We’ve got wonderful property owners downtown that are renovating these buildings while really paying attention to historical importance of the architecture,” Smith said.
Idaho Falls Downtown Development is also working to replace broken planter boxes on street corners. They are removing the old trees because the environment is not healthy for them and replacing them with new, more established trees. All of these projects and others are part of bringing downtown Idaho Falls back to life.
“This is 20-30 years in the making,” Smith said. “It’s amazing that it’s all happening now. I think it’s a testament to the hard work of dozens of people that have spear-headed and worked really hard to get it going.”
Even though the Broadway Development isn’t scheduled to open for a few more months, businesses are already signing leases. It’s already 70 percent full.
Other areas of town are seeing new business construction too.
Work has begun on the new Blaze Pizza at the Sandcreek Commons in Ammon. Costa Vida will move from its current location on Hitt Road and move next to Blaze Pizza, so it will have more room for a drive-thru window. Construction just started about a week ago. Both are scheduled to open in early 2019.
The new Idaho Falls Goodwill is also underway. Crews are working on getting the building ready for its opening August 2nd. However, they are already taking donations. They are asking for gently used clothing and household items. You can bring donations to the Goodwill truck outside the building, located at 540 east 17th street, where Hastings used to be.
