The condition of the Armory structure has been a source of some speculation for decades. The City of Boise correctly recognized that a thorough engineering analysis of the building was necessary to estimate costs for preservation, stabilization and repurposing. City staffed recently commissioned a formal engineering study that speaks to seismic and hazardous materials considerations. This is not only valuable information from a city and neighborhood perspective, but puts the City of Boise in a much better position to work with a potential purchaser or entertain preservation and repurposing.

The site and structure continue to attract the interest of developers and businesses. We are hopeful that new signs of life in the economy will make it possible to see progress in the coming year. The structure continues to be the target of vandals despite the City’s vigilance, but we are hopeful the 2010 will be a good year for everyone concerned. With luck, the site will once again be a source of community pride, a center of activity and creative energy, and an engine for growth in the local economy.

Our hope is that the work of EENA and the Armory subcommittee, in partnership with the City of Boise and other interested parties, has contributed to the body of knowledge about the Armory. It must be said that throughout this process our members have consistently been impressed with the work and conduct of City staff, Mayor Bieter and Council. EENA’s goal from the start was to approach the process proactively and openly as partners. The City has responded in kind with respect and creative flexibility; most importantly, they have listened to neighbors pursuing practical solutions. This is how things are supposed to work.

Again, we are fortunate to have had the involvement and commitment of generous and talented neighbors throughout the process. Beside the Armory subcommittee, we all owe a debt of gratitude to neighbor Cheryl Flinn, whose contribution of web design and hosting make this site possible as a source of information for neighbors, City staff and potential developers and partners. This has been an invaluable gift.

It’s not over yet, but it’s moving in the right direction. More soon.

The Boise Armory project was recently featured in Next American City magazine as an example of how neighborhood groups can work with local government and developers on a common goal.

To read the entire article, click on the title below:

No Signs of Conflict at Boise’s Historic Reserve Street Armory

And folks are already commenting on the piece:

It is so refreshing to hear about a project that is actually suceeding in many ways; the options are an array of progressive, sustainable, local-grown, but also profitable possibilities that come from cooperation and collaboration.  This is a great model for other cities to use for similar situations. —Julia Dowling, New Jersey

A City of Boise spokesperson alluded to another interesting development:

The city of Boise is currently considering transferring the property to Capital City Development Corporation, the city’s urban renewal agency. According to city spokesman Adam Park, the CCDC would create a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the site before putting the property up for sale.

“The redevelopment plan would have heavy neighborhood involvement,” Park says, who was encouraged by the efforts of the East End Neighbors Association. “We’ve gotten good feedback from the neighborhood already. It’s been a positive process.”

The city has particular interest in the Armory’s potential to diversify the economic base of downtown Boise, where market-rate and luxury development has limited housing options for the workforce.

While we are excited to have new alternatives and options, we are aware of the enormous challenges ahead. This is a first step; our hope is that an open and inclusive process will result in a diverse coalition of community stakeholders who can move the project forward. Thanks to everyone involved so far: EENA, CCDC, NENA, DBA, the City Council and the Mayor’s office. We look forward to new partnerships with the Idaho Nation Guard and those interested in preservation and sustainable development that creates a net gain for Boise.

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

1. Embodied Energy
Conserving buildings preserves embodied energy (energy expended to create the materials and construct the building), and reduces the need for new materials.

2. Life Cycle Assessment
Life cycle assessment (LCA) reveals that retaining and rehabilitating buildings is more environmentally friendly than new construction. The Canada-based Athena Institute has developed a life cycle assessment tool that helps illustrate the numerous environmental merits of building conservation.

3. Waste generation
Preserving buildings reduces waste in landfills. Demolition of housing produces an average of 115 lbs of waste per square foot, while demolition of commercial buildings generates approximately 155 lbs of waste per square foot. For the Armory, this means we could potentially avoid sending 6.2 million pounds, or 3,100 tons of waste to the Ada County landfill.

4. Sprawl reduction
Preservation reduces sprawl, by encouraging the continued use and revitalization of our existing community. Preservation reduces pressure for development on the urban fringe, and thereby reduces accompanying environmental impacts of sprawl, such as loss of natural habitat, increased reliance on automobiles, and development of environmentally and economically costly infrastructure. This is particularly true of the Armory site and structure, situated at the crossroads of the North End, East End, Downtown and Foothills neighborhoods and within walking/biking distance of major employers in Boise’s core.

5. General operating efficiency
It is often alleged that historic building are energy hogs, and therefore should be demolished rather than rehabilitated. In fact, some historic buildings are more energy efficient than more recently constructed buildings. While some historic buildings may indeed perform poorly, data suggests that many outperform modern buildings. Numerous green rehabilitations of historic buildings also prove that where building energy performance is lacking, it can be improved in a way that is sensitive to historic fabric.

Keep in mind that the Armory is currently on Boise’s geothermal system, meaning a 30% reduction in heating costs relative to 2007 prices, and increasing savings as energy costs continue to spiral upwards.

6. Windows
There is a common perception that windows are a major source of heat loss and gain. Yet retaining historic windows is often more environmentally friendly than replacement with new thermally resistant windows. Government data suggests that windows are responsible for only 10% of air infiltration in the average home. Furthermore, a 1996 study finds that the performance of updated historic windows is in fact comparable to new windows. Window retention also preserves embodied energy, and reduces demand for environmentally costly new windows, typically constructed of vinyl or aluminum.

7. Economic development
Historic Preservation spurs economic development. Numerous studies indicate that preservation serves as a catalyst for additional investment in communities.

8. Job creation
Dollar for dollar, preservation creates more jobs than new construction. Several studies and an economic input-output model developed by Carnegie Mellon University demonstrate that preservation activities create more jobs than new construction.

9. Economic competitiveness
Historic resources can increase economic competitiveness by helping create a dynamic environment that draws highly skilled workers. Quality of place is a draw for an increasingly mobile, talented, and sought after class of workers. Historic buildings contribute to the richness and diversity of the built environment, and help to create dynamic places that attract talent.

10. Small-business friendly
Historic buildings are friendly to small-businesses. Older buildings often offer more affordable rents, and are a good match for the space needs of small businesses.

11. Service-based economic growth
Preservation promotes service-based economic development. As noted in argument 8, preservation is more labor intensive than new construction. Dollar for dollar, preservation creates more growth than new construction, while using fewer natural resources.

12. Affordable housing
Preservation is a powerful generator of affordable housing. Equity is a core tenet of sustainable development, and affordable housing is key to achieving equity. Historic buildings have served as a valuable source of affordable housing.

13. Enhanced building efficiency
Improving the energy efficiency of historic buildings makes them more economically sustainable to operate. An increasing number of case studies demonstrate that the energy performance of historic buildings can be improved in a way that is sensitive to historic fabric.

14. Higher-wage job creation
Generator of High Quality Employment. Preservation requires more specialized skills, generating higher-wage employment.

Read the attached white paper for more details about these 14 points.

Historic Preservation as Sustainable Development

See photo

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.

Armory subcommittee update letter

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.