Construction booming in Idaho Falls

Construction is booming in Idaho Falls as many businesses open new stores.

A car wash is being built on the the corner of Holmes Avenue and North Yellowstone Highway, and the old Los Albertos at 17th Street and Jennie Lee Drive is being transformed into a Starbucks.

Idaho Falls Public Works Director Kent Fugal said the city has been flooded with requests to build new businesses.

“This has actually been a pretty busy time for us in terms of commercial site plan reviews,” said Fugal.

Some say it’s a sign that we’re recovering from the recession.

“They’ve had these investments they’ve been sitting on through the downturn for so long…developers are starting to proceed with some of the things that they’ve been waiting for, some of them as many as four or five years,” said Michael Clements, with Bateman-Hall General Contractors.

“We’re not gonna get back to where we were, but it’s a lot better than it was last year. All the way around, this is a better year coming than it was last year,” said Doyle Beck, owner of BECKO Construction.