Biggest developments in 06′
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Even though the year is not yet over and there may certainly be more news before it ends, I have decided to take a look back and rank what I see as the biggest developments in 06′.
First off, I am sure everyone will agree the biggest would have to be Taylor Crossing and the announcement of the 13-story Marriott Residence Inn. What will soon grace our skyline though is only the tip of the iceberg as far as residential development goes. It was also announced this year that the Walkers are looking to add condos, terrace housing, and row houses in an effort to make this a true mixed use development. Having more people living near downtown will only boost the demand for services and should help the effort to revive downtown. And who can forget about the newest sculpture the Walkers have blessed our fair town with.
The second biggest development has been three years in the making and finally Idaho Falls has a better southern access off of the interstate. This is not only going to jump start growth in the sparse southwest corner of the city, but is also a great investment for future companies looking to relocate.
Next would have to be the expansion of hotel/restaurant row. With the announcement of a Hilton Garden Inn and the Olive Garden, the ever expanding row just got a little better.
On a side note, it was tough trying to rank all these developments as they are all extremely important to the growth and vitality of Idaho Falls.
Continuing with the westside trend, the next biggest is the begining of the Ball Ventures property south of Taylor Crossing. Just recently construction began on the first retail building with a square footage of almost 43,000. Rumor has it that not only will there be office and retail, but condos are also planned so this new development should blend in with Taylor Crossing quite nicely.
Now let’s jump to the other side of town into Ammon. We all know how fast and slipshod Ammon’s growth has been the last few years and now it is finally infilling. Why is that important you ask? It will create continuity for not only Ammon but for the metro are as well and more improvements to infrastructure will have to be made to keep up with the growth. (The stoplight at Ammon Rd. and 17th St. for example.)
Let’s move north of Ammon to a little burg (for the time being at least) called Iona. For years now subdivisions have been creeping out toward Iona while the town was hardly growing. Now it has been discovered and Idaho Falls’ newest suburb is starting to grow, and may exceed the growth that Ammon has experienced. One proposed development alone will more than double the size of Iona if the developer gets his way, to the tune of 1,400 housing units.
The second biggest infrastructure improvement this year has to be at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport. Although the airport terminal didn’t expand, more hangar space has been added which only means the capability for more daily flights into Idaho Falls, such as the newly created Idaho Falls to Denver flight.
The medical industry received a big boost this year as well with the announcements of a 3-story state of the art medical office building to be named Valencia Villa, and the announcement that EIRMC will be building a 6-story office building as well. Also, in an effort to train nurses, EITC began construction on the new nursing school that will help fill a need for more nurses.
And finally, although I am sure I forgot alot of developments, to me the construction of the Chuckars new ballfield is a big development, not only will the eyesore that was McDermott Field be replaced, it will assure that we will continue having one more option for things to do on summer nights.
Feel free to add on to this list or re-rank them however you feel, or better yet, create your own top project list as I would love to get others opinions. Who knows, maybe in the next month and a half, an even bigger development will completly change my list, I don’t doubt it will happen, I am actually counting on it.
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Comments
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0 I only wish that the new baseball field could carry a different name.
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0 0 Thank you for your kind comments. I need to add something to the medical part of the article that I didn’t mean to leave out. Taylor Crossing getting a Mountain View Urgent Care is up there in the ranking due to the fact that there is no real hospital on the west side of town. From the rumors I have heard though, there may be another (hospital) next to the Sunnyside exit. Only time will tell if that happens though.
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0 0 Yeah the west side is the best side in my opinion, but we do need better medical facilities. The only doc-in-a-box is closed sundays I think.
A new hospital?! That would be awesome! I wonder if it’s another chain from columbia/or whoever owns EIRMC now or an extension of Mountain View (though they seem tight on money now) or a whole new medical organization?
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0 0 Hey all. I think any medical facility that goes in around Taylors Crossing will be just a family emergency care type. There is already one such type facility on Skyline Dr. As for a new hospital, Idaho Falls won’t see one for some time since Mtn View Hospital is having a hard time running. EIRMC is planning a new3 office building. EIRMC has a monopoly on health care in Idaho Falls but they are getting competition from Bingham Memorial in Blackfoot and Madison Memorial in Rexburg as for general medical issues in the area. Tom Campbell was a mover and a shaker as a mayor that brought business to Idaho Falls, Linda did ok, Furhiman is I’m affraid a lost cause. Lets not for get the local Republican Sheep, who think they’re somebody in the community, if they can’t get a cut of the pie for themselves then they’re not going to support any new growth but the follow the Sheperds real good with the party line…Baaaaa
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0 0 Well, I knew I would forget something. I’m not sure where to place this one, probably number 3 or 4, but I inadvertantly left out the expansion of the greenbelt downtown, and sprucing up downtown. Doh! I don’t know why I forgot.
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0 0 I’m afraid that I would have to disagree with Christi on the Mayor thing. Yes, Campbell was a good Mayor but Millam? What did she ever do besides warm the chair? I can’t recall any significant projects started and finished during her tenure. The present mayor has however, during his short time in office already pushed through a plan to secure energy for the future, though surely the plan was not his to begin with.
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0 0 Thank you so much for that article, dnix0112. It’s always good to know what’s going on in your own community.
It also makes me very happy that my husband and I picked Idaho Falls over Pocatello. One of the main deciding factors is that IF had more growth and more things going on. Since we own a business, having more people move to the community is a definite benefit for us - just as long as IF doesn’t turn into a huge disgusting sprawling mess.
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0 0 I would have to agree with Christi on one point. I seriously doubt a new general med/surg hospital on the west side. Talk of that happening was prior to Mtn. View being built. Humana was looking at the market at they entered ID. Local doctors were going to partner with them, but instead, Mtn. View got built.
I’ll just smile about the comments regarding Madison Memorial and especially Bingham Memorial and ask one question: What doctors are staffing their specialty clinics?
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0 0 It’ll be interesting to reflect on the biggest developments in 07.
BTW, I just noticed the Sandwich Tree on 17th street got a paint job, and they look pretty sharp now. Kudos to them for doing something so simple that has a great impact on that area.
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Very well-written article. I enjoyed reading it. Thank you!