Developers unveil 670-acre project near Garden Valley
Idaho Business Review
10/31/2005
Plans have been announced for a 670-acre development near Garden Valley in Boise County, 40 miles north of Boise, with 473 home sites, commercial buildings and considerable open space.
Oaas Laney LLC and Dynamis Group LLC - of Boise and Eagle, respectively - aim to develop Southfork Landing along the South Fork of the Payette River. The property is accessed from Charter Ranch Road via Alder Creek Road.
"The design of the community involved an extensive planning effort to create a sustainable living environment, yet maintain the integrity and natural beauty of the property and the Valley," C. Lloyd Mahaffey of Dynamis Group said in a statement.
The PUD application designates about 65 percent of the property as open space and calls for a greenbelt along the property's 3.5 miles of river frontage, according to the statement released by the Windermere Real Estate office in downtown Boise.
Potential commercial projects in Southfork Landing include a hotel and conference center, restaurants, an outdoor amphitheater and an equestrian center. Developers also plan trails, streams and ponds, gardens, and a community center with tennis courts and pool.
"We'll have to provide all infrastructure for the project," Steve Laney, a partner in Oaas Laney, said in an interview. "We're already pretty well along the path of solving the infrastructure issues."
Southfork Landing would have its own sewer system and its own well system, he said.
The developers plan to partner with Idacomm - the communication subsidiary of Idaho Power parent Idacorp Inc. - to develop a broadband "hot spot" there, Laney said.
Home prices haven't been determined, he said. A published report said lots would range from $100,000 for cabin sites to $400,000-plus for luxury home sites.
"There are a lot of different groups that this project appeals to," Laney said.
Site work could start by year's end and lot sales as soon as April, depending on approvals, he estimated.
A site plan by The Land Group, Eagle, shows a mix of 1/3-acre lots, estate lots up to 6 acres, patio homes, villas, cabins, and cottages.
The statement said the Charters family homestead overlooking the proposed community - built from an 1890s Sears & Roebuck kit - "will be preserved and tastefully renovated into a usable addition to the community amenities."
In Southfork Landing, 253 acres would be developed and 168 acres used as common space, according to the site plan. The development would have 173 acres of "undisturbed forest" and a 21-acre "greenbelt conservation zone."
"One of the things we're really striving for is to leave intact a lot of the natural aspects of the property," Laney said.
The Boise County Planning & Zoning Commission plans to consider the proposal at 7 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Garden Valley Senior Center, and consider oral and written comments.
County officials "have made it pretty clear that taxpayer dollars are not going to pay for (developers') infrastructure," said Kathie Brady, Boise County planning and zoning administrator.
They have agreed to pay the county's share of a new, two-lane Alder Creek Road bridge across the South Fork, she said.
Developers also have met with school and fire officials, Brady said.
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