Northeast Boise's Landmark

Many people ask, “What’s going to go on at the Armory? Who will the tenants be?”

The answer is, we don’t know. It will depend on the developer/owner finding a tenant or group of tenants that are a good fit. If you want to know what neighbors and residents have suggested over time, see “Potential Uses” or “Visioning Process” sections.

Elsewhere, we’ve seen or heard of several interesting uses for historic Armory buildings: in almost every case, they carry forward a public use through retail, entertainment, arts and cultural activities.

Here are a few examples (we’ll add more as they are made available):

The Pasadena, CA Armory focuses on the Arts.

http://www.armoryarts.org/about-us/mission-and-history/

The Helms Bakery District repurposed a similar historic Art Deco structure in Los Angeles into a vibrant mixed use complex, with on-site solar generation, a microbrewery, retail shops and restaurants.

http://helmsbakerydistrict.com/

The Portland Armory is now the home of Portland Center Stage, and used for performance and event space.

http://www.pcs.org/

On 4/25/12, members of the EENA Armory Subcommittee met with Preservation Idaho’s Dan Everhart and Sheri Freemuth of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. We discussed the latest developments in efforts to preserve and repurpose the historic structure. The City of Boise is currently working with a developer interested in helping stabilize and make improvements, which could allow the 40,000 square foot building and approximately 5 acres to be turned over to a foundation or nonprofit that would assume responsibility for leasing and repurposing the building.

One question put before the Armory Subcommittee involves exterior treatment of the concrete. Our meeting on the 25th brought together historic preservation experts and our resident architect Steve Trout to contemplate recent proposals from the developer. To date, there is overwhelming support from neighbors, historians, architects and community members to preserve the exterior surfaces to the extent possible and practical.

The narrative of the Armory’s construction is in this tactile concrete skin. The board form impressions and pour lines are like tree rings…they tell the story of many strong hands and backs hauling concrete hour by hour, day after day to create the building’s structural shell. As a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, it also represents national and local strategies to work our way out of the Great Depression.

Some complain that the separate pour of the upper front wings doesn’t match the original 1937 work, and they’re right. In the 50s contractors had access to plywood forms and more modern concrete mix.

Thanks to Meg Sullivan for a sample of a similar vintage concrete structure repurposed in L.A. as an architectural anchor for the Helms Bakery District.

The Armory Subcommittee is currently drafting a response to the developer’s request for information and we hope to have that delivered the first week of May. Look for more updates in mid May of this year. Thanks for your interest in this great site and structure, and stay tuned.

December 12, 2011

Land deal could save and restore the Boise Armory

The city is working with two Silicon Valley businessmen on swaps that also involve acreages at the city’s industrial park.

By Cynthia Sewell – cmsewell@idahostatesman.com

Copyright: © 2011 Idaho Statesman

The city is working with two Silicon Valley businessmen on swaps that also involve acreages at the city’s industrial park.

The historic but dilapidated 1930s-era Boise Armory may get a new life, and 200 acres of desert scrub may see industrial activity if two city of Boise deals come to fruition.

The city has searched years for the right people to revitalize the Boise Armory and the city’s underperforming industrial park near the airport. Now two powerhouse California developers are interested: billionaire Silicon Valley real estate mogul John Arrillaga and PowerBar co-founder Mike McCollum. They are the J (John) and M (Mike) of J&M Land LLC.

See full story here

As we all know, time moves only one way. The Armory, like the rest of us, isn’t getting any younger. The Armory Subcommittee has so far been very impressed with the commitment shown by the Mayor’s office to pursue opportunities to preserve the historic structure and repurpose the site and interior space. We have learned that although offers have been made over time, most involve demolition of the structure.

Few developers combine an appreciation of the building’s history and Art Deco details with the resources to restore the building to a community asset. We also recognize the city could have auctioned the site off years ago, and Boise would have lost a historic reminder of our architectural and military legacy. That they have held out this long is an example of their sensitivity to neighborhood involvement and an appreciation for the strategic nature of the structure and site to Boise’s long-term vitality.

We are hopeful, and continue to hear from interested neighbors and Armory fans with great ideas for the location. The latest among these is a suggestion to create something along the lines of the Tech Shop in San Francisco. If you’ve never heard of Tech Shop, here’s a description from their web site:

TechShop is a membership-based workshop that provides members with access to tools and equipment, instruction, and a community of creative and supportive people so they can build the things they have always wanted to make.

Keep the great ideas coming!

Please stay tuned to this site for updates, put your thinking caps on and keep your fingers crossed. More soon!

Some of the suggested uses for the Armory reflect the concept of creative live-work space as an economic engine and neighborhood asset. The following is an excerpt from www.knowledgeplex.org:

Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) is a ten-year national initiative to improve conditions for artists in all disciplines which will enable them in their creative work and contribute to community life. With leadership support from the Ford Foundation, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Surdna Foundation, LINC focuses on three strategic goals:

• Expanding financial supports for artists’ work;
• Improving artists’ access to essential material supports such as live/work space, insurance, equipment and professional development; and
• Bolstering knowledge, networks and public policies that enhance artists’ work and their contributions to communities.

Link to the final report: Artist Space Development: Financing

During the past several months, many suggestions have focused on the potential to develop the Armory into a center for local businesses to cultivate a cooperative of complementary activities with shared infrastructure and strategic use of energy and materials. The best analogy would be a functioning ecosystem, in which each niche is filled by a species (business) that makes efficient use of the energy within the system. “Waste” from one species or process becomes raw material or energy for others. This concept is well described in the book “Biomimicry” by Janine Benyus. This use would complement new construction of on-site workforce housing, which a recent study identified as a pressing need near Boise’s downtown.

Boise has seen rapid expansion of local ‘green’ businesses in the past 5-10 years. Many of these creative entrepreneurs are finding ways to share information and resources; they are in effect cultivating a subset of the local economy that generates good jobs and income, provides quality goods and services…all while using a sustainable business model that maximizes input and minimizes waste and negative environmental or social impacts. To get a sense of the scale of this growing community, visit www.idahogreenexpo.com.

Given the Armory’s size (40,000 sq ft), central location, and geothermal service, many feel there is enormous potential to repurpose the structure into a thriving economic engine and neighborhood/community resource with a negligible carbon footprint. The structure and site could become home to a small business incubator/cooperative with the common theme of sustainability; it could also become a research and development laboratory for students of sustainable business or economic theory. With support and direction, the site could attract additional ‘clean and green’ investment to the Boise economy.

This strategic outcome would require several things:

• an owner and developer with capacity and vision
• a strategic business plan
• funding for acquisition and rehab
• neighborhood, city and community support
• a community of businesses and tenants
• a market for the goods and services produced

From a strategic land-use perspective, the Armory site has value as a perpetual community asset. Once the site is out of the community’s control, however, it would be difficult or impossible to reclaim; the only way to ensure community access is for the community to step forward—in one way or another—to invest in the structure’s preservation and renovation.

Submit comments on this posting if you have suggestions or questions. If you are or know of a community minded Angel investor interested in an outstanding legacy opportunity, let us know that, too.

Not a day goes by without Committee members running into someone with an interest in the Armory site or a suggestion for creative uses for the space. Some even suggest actual tenants. We like the excitement generated by this project, and hope you do, too. Below are some sample ideas generated to date. Keep checking back to see the list grow and evolve.

Read this first. The comments and concepts presented on this web site are just that. Neighbors are in the creative/brainstorming phase at this point; not all suggestions will be realistic in terms of zoning, economics, or broader community needs.

We want to give everyone a voice, find areas of common interest and concern, then create a set of realistic priorities and recommendations that take into account issues like financing, traffic, market conditions, and most importantly local priorities and values.

A note about traffic. With the Armory sitting vacant for the past several years, any new activity will change traffic patterns in the vicinity. As fellow neighbors, we are committed to evaluating these impacts, some positive and some negative; to better understand the net traffic effects of different scenarios.

Our aim is to propose pedestrian-friendly uses that tend to reduce existing car trips where possible to balance out increases elsewhere, and to explore the type, speed and timing of traffic generated at this site.

Mixed-income / workforce housing. Boise’s downtown core has seen tremendous housing development in the past decade…virtually all of it high-end luxury condos and town homes starting at $250,000. There is currently a lack of housing affordable to key professionals (nurses, teachers, police officers, firefighters, etc.) that make our community safe and strong. The land around the Armory presents an opportunity to develop well-designed, owner-occupied housing that would serve as a recruitment and retention tool (read ‘wage subsidy’) for local public and private employers.

A perfect illustration of the need for workforce housing is available in the Workforce Housing Task Force Report for Downtown Boise, Idaho. Thanks to Katina Dutton and CCDC for sharing their final full report and a succint Powerpoint version here. This is an important read for employers, economic developers and anyone who cares about Boise’s ongoing vitality.

Workforce Housing Task Force (full) Report Workforce Housing Presentation

Sustainable design facility. The Armory site is already on Boise’s geothermal system, which presents interesting opportunities for limiting the carbon footprint of any development or tenants in the space. One suggestion would take this to another level, creating a center for education, research and applied technology in sustainable architecture, wastewater treatment, permaculture, etc. This could be a resource for policy makers, homeowners and those in the construction industry seeking products and processes to help “future proof” the built environment (i.e., protect against ever-increasing energy, health and maintenance costs through appropriate materials and technology).

Education. Several ideas have been recommended for locating a charter or other type of school in the space. One visitor proposed a Community Literacy Center and children’s museum. Another suggestion involves creating a first-rate arts and crafts school, with apprenticeships and studio space for those interested in a professional career move or simply developing a skill. Many in Boise’s arts community feel a need for additional studio and work space, from fine woodworking, metal, glass, ceramics or textiles to printmaking and painting.

Community center. Recent suggestions this week indicate a desire for a community events space with a commercial kitchen and performance and meeting facilities to accommodate various groups during evenings or weekends.

Recreational facilities. Some have suggested a need for a neighborhood-scale workout facility in part of the space, with room for yoga, dance or other fitness classes. We see the potential for this to become part of a distributed network of local health/recreational facilities that encourage neighbors to walk or bike rather than getting in a car and driving somewhere to get excercise.

Local grower’s cooperative. The Treasure Valley has seen a significant increase in the number and diversity of locally grown produce and other agricultural products. The Downtown Farmer’s Market is one outlet for these businesses; a year-round facility would cultivate support for Idaho products and the local economy.

Business incubator. several communities are investing in business incubators…affordable spaces with shared resources where local entrepreneurs can get a start in a supportive environment. These could be artists or craftspeople, web developers, or the next Micron or HP startup.

Retail and commercial. Restaraunts, coffee shops, books stores or other retail and entertainment services that appeal to residents and workers in the surrounding neighborhoods. Office space for administrative or professional services is another possibility.