Perfect Landing: Snake River Landing a new commerce epicenter

Watch out Grand Teton Mall, you’ve got serious competition on the horizon. Snake River Landing, an ambitious multi-use development encompassing 400 acres between the Snake River and the I-15 is headed into Idaho Falls.

When the project is complete, Snake River Landing will boast 90,000 square feet of office space, 500,000 square feet of retail space, 135 acres of condos and other housing units and possibly civic facilities, churches and schools.
“Basically it will be a community within a community,” said Snake River Landing’s Chief Development Officer Eric Isom.
As of now, the community consists of an Iggy’s Sports Bar and Grill, some offices that are gradually filling up, and a new Toyota dealership. It is difficult, however, to know when the dust will settle and everything will open for good.
“It’s going to be dictated by the market – how fast Idaho Falls grows and what the Economy does,” Isom said. “It will be a minimum of 10 to 15 years before it’s all complete.”
Even though the national economy has been tarred and feathered in the last year, Idaho Falls has been able to grow despite the odds. Isom said Idaho Falls hasn’t been hit as hard by the economic downturn.
“We didn’t have the huge run-up in real estate prices; we had a nice steady growth rate,” Isom said. “It didn’t go nuts like a lot of markets have. Therefore when things tanked [we] weren’t as effected.”
Not only that, but the local economy has been bolstered by high wheat and potato prices, which has helped to smooth out a lot of the negative spikes. The conservative prices of Idaho-Falls real estate have made Idaho Falls more attractive to big investors, making projects on the scale of Snake River Landing a reality.
“It seems like there’s a big interest in construction here,” Isom said.
That interest has led people from all over the region to come to events held at the new pier, a 4,000-square-foot structure that extends out into the scenic Snake River, providing a different view than people are used to seeing. Snake River Landing has already hosted a trick or treat Halloween party and a plein-air painting festival which were both well-attended public events.
“The public reaction has been overwhelmingly positive because of additional park and rec areas incorporated in the project,” said Steve Frei, principal at NAI Commerce 1, which is responsible for leasing and land sale within the development. “A lot of people are out riding bikes and fishing off the pier.”
Businesses have also seemed excited to be involved in the project, which Frei said is changing the complexion of Idaho Falls.
“The business community views it as the place to be,” he said. “It’s class A office space along the river. It just doesn’t get better than that.”
At least one business seems to agree with him too.
“I absolutely believe that my location is the best location in Idaho Falls because I have a great view of Snake,” said Sammy Rideout, owner of the new Iggy’s which opened in August. “I don’t have the waterfalls to see, but no restaurant can see them clearly.”
Rideout’s excitement has certainly carried into his clientele, which he said has made it a point to enjoy the unique surroundings as part of their night out – strolling down by the pier, enjoying the nice weather when they have it and walking along the river while they wait for their table.
“I believe that the Snake River Landing has a very pretty and comfortable atmosphere,” Rideout said, emphasizing his location across the river from the Latter-day Saint temple.
On an overall scale, reactions to the restaurant and surrounding area have been overwhelmingly positive, though Rideout has fielded occasional complaints about dust on windy days. That is one of several bumps that have come up in the pristine pavement being laid at Snake River Landing.
Snake River Landing was formerly a gravel pit, so dust is no stranger to the area, especially since Idaho Falls tends to be Chicago of the West when it comes to wind. In May the Environmental Protection Agency filed an expedited settlement offer against Ball Ventures, Bateman-Hall, Inc. and HK Contractors Inc. that mentioned the dust complained about over at Iggy’s, but had other concerns too.
Case Developer Chris Gephardt said the action was filed by inspectors that found the contractors weren’t up to code with the clean water act. The problem was that not enough protection had been laid to keep storm-water drainage from winding up in the Snake River. One inlet specifically was unprotected with sediment traps.
“In most areas you have vegetation and when you dig it up, you worsen the problem,” Gephardt said. When the digging comes in, he said, it can allow for accelerated erosion, making dirty drainage a problem.
Gephardt was sure to mention that the site was not particularly conducive to such problems because it had already been excavated so thoroughly during its time as a quarry. A lot of the problems came with the paperwork and logistics nightmare of having so many developers working in one confined space. To the developers’ credit, Gephardt said they asked for assistance in rectifying the problem, paid their $6,550 fee and came together recently to fix the problems. They are currently back in compliance with the EPA.
Perhaps a bigger hiccup for the development has been the struggling economy.
“Has it had an impact on us?” Isom asked. “Yes it has. It hasn’t been as big – it’s just slowed us down,” he answered.
Of course Isom said he hopes that won’t slow people down from moving into the area. For residents of the new development, Snake River Landing is offering a hands-free lifestyle. Developer Ball Ventures and its subsidiary, Snake River Landing, LLC, hope to eliminate many residents’ 20-minute commute by providing area to work and live in one neighborhood. Almost six miles of walking paths will follow waterways through the 400-acre property and add even more convenience to the mix. Water features and open landscaped areas will characterize the land. The area will be conducive to maintenance-free living.
“It’s what we call lock and leave,” Isom said. “If you want to leave for six months, you can. It’ll be just like it was when you left it.”
Because of this mentality, the housing will be divided up mostly between townhomes, condos and apartments.
On the business side, Snake River Landing will focus on flexibility. If someone would like to own land to build their office, they can buy land. If they’d rather lease or rent pre-constructed office or retail space, that will be possible too. Ball Ventures even offers to build a building and lease it back to someone.
In short, Snake River Landing is seeking to give Idaho Falls a facelift many feel it needs. Isom said he hopes it puts Idaho Falls on the map like nothing before has been able to do.
Allen Ball, owner of Ball Ventures has already donated the land and landscaping for Milligan Park to the city of Idaho Falls and has offered to donate more land if the city would like to use it to build a community center. Feasibility plans are being considered by the Chamber of Commerce to build a community events or recreation center.
The proposed center would lean toward an events center with an arena, possibly opening the doors to a minor league hockey team in Idaho Falls. Besides sports, Isom said it would become like a mini Delta Center or Holt Arena, a place where monster trucks can perform, rodeos and concerts can be held and the kids can go to swim.
“The project’s big enough we can find a way to get it done,” Isom said. “There’s really something for everybody
. You’ve got to see it to understand it.”