The other day while driving down 17th street in Ammon, I noticed there were for sale signs up in front of three houses on the north side of the street next to Rex’s. This normally wouldn’t be anything to take a second look at, yet upon a second glance I noticed they are also being sold to move.
The last time houses were moved off of 17th, it was due to Walgreens wanting to build on the corner of Holmes and 17th. That’s not the case this time as Walgreens is building its new store further east on the corner of 17th and Ammon.
Let me say that I constantly check the legals from the classified section of the newspaper in hopes of catching something that may not have been heard of before. I noticed a month back that a developer was looking to rezone the property that the houses sit on to CC-1, or central commercial, the same zone that is used for high density commercial and/or residential. To give you an example of the zone type, this is the same type of zone that Idaho Falls will use for the Marriott. Something is happening on the property, I’m just not sure yet what it might turn out to be. Whether or not it is a hotel or condos, or possibly a large office building is yet to be known, but given the zoning type I suspect it will be huge for Ammon.
And for the seafood lover in you, I have heard from a source close to another source, that the Red Lobster may be building next to Wendy’s on Broadway. I have heard rumors that Darden Restaurants (the owner of both Olive Garden and Red Lobster) would only build an Olive Garden if a Red Lobster was built too. That would explain the sudden increase of site work on that pad, as of yet though, it is still just a rumor.
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Gato got runned over by Marcus many moons ago. Be ye daft, 2486? 
Let's have a new poll, alright, Joe?
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Nice job, DNIX! For those of us who just have to know what is happening before big announcements are made, nice scoop. I sure miss the days when one could at least look up city permits. I’ve never checked on reviewing anything for the County. At that location, would the building permit come from 8B County or City of Ammon? If Ammon, do they have an open-book policy?
Any chance it could be: a. That call center to employee 700 people? I certainly haven’t heard about it recently., 2. A hotel? With Ammon’s and southeast I.F.’s population, the three hotels on Channing and Hitt are far from adequate for the need, or 3. Broulim’s which apparently is headed for Ammon? Maybe Hitt got too expensive for Broulim’s? Hard to believe 17th would be cheaper.
How big of an area would you say is being cleared?
I feel confident about your information about Darden. I do NOT KNOW for a fact, but I do this is a very common practice for Darden elsewhere in the U.S.
Glad you FINALLY wrote an article so we can post data that will stay longer than on the chat area.
Keep us updated and thanks!
Did you see in the PR that the ‘Sunnyside Crossroads Regional Center withdrew its application for annexation to the city? What’s up, or do you know?
About two years ago, the city of Idaho Falls annexed a small tract of land from south of West 17th to what is now the Sunnyside exit. They did this so that when the development starts going the city can easily annex the property. It will happen eventually, but the property is so desirable that I would believe everything has to be in order before anything will start.
As far as who may have been building there, I don’t know that but don’t worry, I’m sure they only went back to the drawing board before coming up with a final proposal, so when they do present the plan to the city council, it will pass unanimously.
I am almost 100% certain that on the east side of I-15 you will see two “large” car dealerships. From what I hear, Land Rover and Teton Toyota are looking to build there.
That is all I know for now, but I am certain many announcements and rumors will come shortly.
There is also new news on the hotel front. It seems that the Hampton Inn on Channing is prepared for a 12,000 sq. ft. addition. Whether or not this means more hotel rooms or a conference center is still not certain.
Yes, that has been planned for well over a year. But, Hilton (the parent company of Hampton) had to approve the plans. Word was, Ball Ventures was a little frustrated with the delays and looked at building elsewhere. UGH!
I’m excited for the Land Rover dealership.
Idaho Falls is moving up the chain…FAST!
As I have nothing new to tell everyone about as of yet, I have noticed a few things that have made me wonder.
First of all, in the empty field south of the Northwinds office, it seems dirt has been moved. I know for a fact IF has been under scrutiny in recent years for not “infilling”, and there have been recent attempts to develop this land. It could be anything from condos (which I have heard), to retail, or possibly even new office buildings. If anyone knows feel free to share, I shall keep digging in the meantime.
Also, just across the river, next to the Lindsay Blvd. offramp, a foundation has been poured. To me it looks like it could be the begginings of storage units (I am praying that it’s not). Hopefully this will be a continuation of expanding the greenbelt area, so my hopes are that it’s a restaraunt. Future growth north of Highway 20 next to the greenbelt would be a worthwile investment (See Joes article on expanding the greenbelt)as I see it the west bank of the Snake is in dire need of a makeover. After all with the University Place and Freeman Park on the east bank, it could turn out to be the next “hotspot”.
I have more info on the property next to Wendy’s on Broadway. I have come across site plans that suggest a Starbucks on the site. (Didn’t see that one coming). Also, with the closing of Everton Matress, I can only guess that the building will be torn down in a continued effort to redevelop the area. (I wonder if Dominoes and Artic Circle are safe?)
Ouch for the Java hut across the street if a Starbucks pops up across that busy street.
I foresee the decimation of locally-owned businesses by national franchise chains on Broadway. And it will be considered progress.
Does anyone besides me remember the River City Saloon. I’m not a biker and I’m not a drinker, but that place was a landmark! Even now, I miss it. And the donut shop that’s a hardware store and on and on. Broadway will be the spitting image of 17th street before we know it. Personally, I’ll stick to the Java Hut.
As seen on the website for Channel 8 news:
Living in the county isn’t quite what it used to be.
New developments have popped up around the Idaho Falls city limits, which is great for the city but may not be as welcoming to those wanting to keep their distance. One new development was just approved Thursday night in the Idaho Falls city council meeting.
What they approved was an annexation of a property South of Idaho Falls near Holmes and York. That means that area will now be a part of the city of Idaho Falls. This is all in preparation for a subdivision that is planned there.
Here is a look at the plans of the new subdivision. They say it will be nice housing with a renaissance theme. They hope to build more than 600 homes in the area, but all of that will happen slowly over what they expect to be a 20-year period of time. Those in charge of the construction are GHG Investment Company.
GHG President Richard Groberg said, “We’re happy to be a part of the growth of Idaho Falls and have been for a number of years, and we do like nice developments as an improvement to the whole area.”
Interesting bit of news, annexation and a new 600 unit subdivision. Looks like the population of IF will spike up a bit in the near future.
I also saw on the tv report somebody living out there complaining it was growing too fast.
600 homes over a 20-year period is growing too fast?
Move out to Arco then. I want to see growth. In my simple mind growth=job opportunities=more fun things to do=reasons to stay in Idaho Falls instead of migrating to Wyoming where their economy is booming.
Wow. Was that last comment from the same guy chagrined over the appearance of franchise restaurants on Broadway?
I guess my inconsistency is busted there.
So I guess I want lots of growth but all original small companies not corporate franchises.
And I guess I need to wake up to the real world.
I have another little tidbit to share with everyone. I noticed today that a foundation was being poured next to the Olive Garden. Add that to what was mentioned in the PR and what Joe noticed about the sign and I think we know what’s going on there!
But Joe, If I remember correctly you like WalMart prices and search for other things that are cheaper than some items in town. There is nothing wrong with that, except how do small businesses compete with the chains?
The cost of doing business for a small business is so much more than opening another branch of a chain store.
How would you propose we get the best of both worlds?
I don’t know the perfect solution. I already said, “I guess my inconsistency is busted there.”
I want in one hand and **** in the other and wonder why one fills up faster I guess.
Once again I’ll say, “And I guess I need to wake up to the real world.”
I wasn’t giving you a hard time, Joe. I was just making a comment on the cost of doing business as a small business. Dnix and I discuss it often. What we would like to see, and what is reality of what can be done.
Interestingly enough, I was talking to an IT person for a large health insurance company lately. I told him I’d worked for a larger national health insurance company’s subsidiary p/t for 8 years and I KNEW how insurance was priced, especially health insurance, and “add ons.”
I pointed out that regional insurers, such as the company he works for, make it cost prohobitive for small businesses to offer their employees health insurance even if they want to. Most employers want to do what they can for their employees, with “can” being the key word.
The gentleman, with whom I was speaking said, “Yah, in my company (He named it, but I won’t), we give big business premiums so most people can afford it and will sign up. But, we really make money off of small employers who purchase health insurance; there is nothing they can do about it.
Sometimes, I just think it would help people in trying to decide if they want local products to understand where part of those increased costs are.
Economies to scale work to keep prices down. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have just seen CVS Pharmacy purchase CareMark. Apparently, CVS thinks this will allow them to compete with WalMart. I don’t know. Only mail in rx customers will know for sure.
Do you think the Internet enters into this discussion at all? I don’t know. I’ve heard people more able to run their small businesses if they don’t have a lot of overhead including many employees. Then, I’ve heard others say the Internet put them out of business.
What do you think the Internet has done locally for (or against) local businesses?
I have a feeling that even if Starbucks magically opened on Broadway (which yes, I would welcome)- Java Espress would still do fine. The city would be great if they could force Starbucks to not build a drive through (something they used to avoid but now see the “error” in those ways) so that those wishing to lounge could visit Starbucks (or tourists) and those wanting reliable, open early drive through service would still hit up Java Espress.
There you go, that’s a good balance for co-existence.
However, can the city really legally preclude Starbucks from adding a drive-through?
I don’t know, I suppose it would depend on zoning laws. I remember a ‘look back’ in the Post Register mentioning DQ on 17th wanting a drive through and the city was not going to allow it (which obviously something changed since the store now has one). Perhaps if the spacing/lot size were built in such a way the Starbucks could not have one.
I think it’s a zoning thing. Something about D.Q. was about space alloted for something. Sorry, not my area, but I do remember the remarks.
I don’t think a city can prevent a drive through, if it is an area zoned for it.
I want Starbucks to have a drive through. I don’t think those who drive through Starbucks (world-wide) will change a good local business, Java Express. Hours would be a huge part. Starbucks isn’t any good to anyone if they are closed at 9:00 p.m.
I was very happy when almost all Starbucks in the Salt Lake area opened until 10 pm 7 days a week (the one closest to the U of Utah being open until 11).
Me too, IFRes. I am glad, to hear that via different sources it sounds like there may be three Starbucks in Idaho Falls.
But, I admit, I do like drive through windows.
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