Urban Land Institute to offer insights on eastern Idaho real estate trends Nov. 16 in Idaho Falls

Urban Land Institute will be in Idaho Falls Nov. 16 to deliver a report on Emerging Trends in Real Estate, based on the annual trend and forecast publication it puts out in collaboration with PwC.

The event will be from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Willard Arts Center. The keynote speaker will be Jeremey Malone, vice president of Oppenheimer Development Corp. Malone is an Idaho native and Boise State University graduate with a degree in business administration. He attained his Real Property Administrator (RPA) designation from Building Owners & Manager Institute (BOMI) International in 2007 and received his Construction Management Certificate from Boise State University in 2010. He has been with Oppenheimer since 1991.

Oppenheimer Development is also the developer behind The Broadway, the huge retail and office project nearing completion at the corner of Broadway and Memorial Drive in Idaho Falls. 

His talk will follow a panel discussion moderated by Dana Briggs, the city of Idaho Falls’ economic development director. Panelists include Mike Hicks of Keller Williams, Chris Lee of SimpLEE Home, and Brent Wilson of Thornton Oliver Keller.

The Emerging Trends in Real Estate report has a 39-year history, and draws on formal and informal surveys of real estate executives, investors, developers, and market experts around the United States, including survey responses from over 1,500 real estate executives and personal interviews with over 350 industry leaders. Survey results relating to our local market will be included in the presentation.

Admission is $25 for ULI members and $35 for non-members. For more information, visit this link: https://idaho.uli.org/event/uli-idaho-real-estate-trends-2019-eastern-idaho/.

Walsh Engineering named Small Business of the Month

Walsh Engineering Services, an Idaho Falls-based engineering firm that works with government and commercial clients, was named Small Business of the Month for October by the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

The award honors small businesses and entrepreneurs across the country. Walsh Engineering was nominated by U.S. Sen. Jim Risch and it will be recognized in the Congressional Record of the U.S. Senate, according to a news release.

Founded by Stephanie Walsh in 2005, Walsh Engineering has contracted with Idaho National Laboratory, the Department of Energy and the State of Idaho Department of Public Works.

“Since its founding, Stephanie Walsh has grown the company from a small group of dedicated engineers and designer-drafters, to a full-service engineering and architecture firm,” Risch said in the release. “She is an outstanding example of Idaho’s unique entrepreneurial spirit and is an inspiration to women entrepreneurs across the great state of Idaho.”

Risch added, “During National Women’s Small Business Month, I am pleased to honor a great woman-owned small business in Walsh Engineering.”

Building permit filed for Holiday Inn and Suites at Jackson Hole Junction development

It looks like a Holiday Inn and Suites is coming to the Jackson Hole Junction development, just west of Teton Toyota near 1-15 Exit 116. A building permit application was filed Oct. 17 by Process Architecture of Missoula, Mont., on behalf of InnTrusted LLC, an Idaho Falls company with several hotels in the area.

Located at 3005 South Fork Boulevard, the permit is for a 91,330-square-foot building with a valuation of $13,128,688.

Locally, InnTrusted operates the Holiday Inn Express on Channing Way, Candlewood Suites, LaQuinta Inn & Suites and two Hampton Inns. The company also operates hotels in Nampa, Pocatello, Jerome and Meridian, as well as Missoula and Butte, Mont., and St. George, Utah.

Jackson Hole Junction is a 44-acre development with plans for two hotels, retail businesses and restaurants. Ground was broken on the site in April.

Bank of Idaho doubles earnings, donation from summer golf tournament

Bank of Idaho President and CEO Jeff Newgard

It seemed an insurmountable task earlier this year when Bank of Idaho President and CEO Jeff Newgard challenged his team to double their 2017 ‘Swing for the Green’ Tournament earnings and donation to the College of Eastern Idaho’s Education Endowment Fund. But on Thursday at 4 p.m., in the bank’s Capital Avenue lobby in downtown Idaho Falls, Newgard and his governing board will be presenting a check for $25,240, slightly more than double last year’s amount.

Local dignitaries, including Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper and Ammon Mayor Sean Coletti, CEI officials, foundation directors and trustees, are expected to be on hand to witness the delivery of the first check for the new endowment. An informal reception will follow.

“Our thanks go out to the many wonderful and generous sponsors who stepped up and donated their time and money,” said Jarod Phillips, the bank’s vice president of market development, who organized the tournament, now in its second year. Special credit goes to Wipfli and The Hartwell  Corp., who anchored the tournament again, he said.

The tournament was held in late June at the Idaho Falls Country Club, with 25 teams participating. It was co-hosted by LPGA Professionals, who have committed to return next year.

“We understand the ripple effect on our local small business economy of having a trained and ready workforce graduating, that are also more likely to continue living in the community,” Newgard said. “We hope to get the word out about the endowment fund’s scholarship opportunity to local students
because we aren’t stopping here. Bank of Idaho is proud to support CEI and the pursuit of educational excellence in our community.”

For details on how to contribute to the Endowment Fund for Higher Education, contact Phillips at (208) 524-5500 or via email at j.phillips@bankofidaho.net.

Idaho Falls schedules residential fiber program public meeting for Tuesday

The pilot area for fiber to be strung overhead, between 17th Street and Rose Hill Cemetery

The pilot area for fiber in city conduits, south of Sunnyside Road 

The Idaho Falls Residential Fiber Pilot Program is set to begin with a public meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Taylorview Junior High School.

Residents whose neighborhoods have been selected to participate in the pilot program have been identified and have received a letter from Idaho Falls Power and the Idaho Falls Fiber Network advising them of the date and time of the meeting.

While the meeting is specifically to answer questions for the pilot program residents, it is an open meeting and the public is invited to attend. The meeting will provide residents with more detailed information on the project, construction process, schedules and details on how and when to sign up for services. Utopia, the Utah-based telecommunications company that is partnering with Idaho Falls Power on the design of the fiber network, will also be at the meeting to help answer questions.

The Idaho Falls residential fiber pilot program was approved by a resolution of the Idaho Falls City Council in September.

“Essentially, Idaho Falls Power already manages a large infrastructure that provides fiber to numerous local businesses, government and schools,” said Bear Prairie, General Manager of Idaho Falls Power and Idaho Falls Fiber. “What [the] resolution does…is formally direct us to prove the feasibility of expanding our network throughout the city.”

The pilot area for fiber to be buried directly, encompassing Stonebrook and some of Victorian Village

Prairie said that the pilot will allow Idaho Falls Power critical connectivity with residential electric customers to provide better power monitoring and customer service. It will also deliver previously unavailable fiber access for internet connectivity if customers want to use the additional bandwidth.

Idaho Falls Power expects residents who opt into the fiber network to experience data speeds up to one gigabit through the service.

Idaho Falls Power already maintains hundreds of miles of power and fiber lines that are run above ground on poles or buried underground throughout neighborhoods. Because Idaho Falls Power already has the fiber backbone and can run new lines through existing power infrastructure, the utility can build the residential fiber network at a fraction of the cost other companies might face.

Construction for the project is scheduled in early November and is expected to continue through the spring of 2019.  The first service to customers could happen as early as December, but is dependent on planning schedules and the weather, so final plans and dates are subject to change.

Residents with questions about the pilot program can contact Idaho Falls Power at 208-612-8430 or by e-mail at ifpinfo@ifpower.org.