This is why you’re hearing and feeling rumbles in downtown Idaho Falls
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The following is a news release.
IDAHO FALLS — The sound of progress will rumble through downtown Idaho Falls this week, as blasting work continues on The Broadway, the construction project which is under way at the corner of Broadway and Memorial.
Blasting is tentatively scheduled to end Thursday.
Over the past couple of weeks, downtowners have heard – and felt – a number of temblors as excavation work required blasting. This week’s should be the last ones needed to facilitate groundwork on the development.
“We’re shaking things up both literally and figuratively,” said Oppenheimer Development Corporation Vice President Jeremy Malone. “We hope this will be a real catalyst project. Something that will help energize the great things already happening in downtown Idaho Falls.”
This is the Boise-based Oppenheimer Development’s first project in Idaho Falls. When finished, the project will be the site of two buildings housing approximately 35,000 square feet of retail and commercial business space; a public plaza featuring a fountain in the summer and potentially a skating rink in the winter; and approximately 71 public parking spaces with 49 below-ground and 22 ground-level spaces.
Blasting was called for primarily because the below-ground parking spaces need to be hewed out of a bed of lava rock. It’s a crucial step in the transformation process.
“We are thrilled to begin construction on The Broadway in the heart of the city,” Malone said. “And by this time next year, the first new tenants should be taking occupancy.”
The list of new tenants currently includes Bank of Idaho, Lucy’s Pizzeria, Smokin Fins and Parsons Behle & Latimer. Currently, approximately two thirds of the rental space is spoken for.
From the project’s inception, Oppenheimer Development has been working closely with the Idaho Falls Urban Renewal Agency, the Mayor’s office and numerous city agencies to ensure viability and to be certain that the finished site will be in keeping with the city’s needs and vision.