EAGLE — A decades-old family dream could soon become a reality in Eagle, as two families look to transform an old gravel quarry off Highway 55 and Hill Road into Quarry Village - a mixed-use development.
The gravel quarry was left to the Dowding and Stahl families, and three generations have a dream to develop, design and build on the property; their vision is to make it special, unlike anything else in the city of Eagle.
One of the property owners and Quarry Village managing member Cindy Greco tells KTVB she pictures it having a Mayberry feel, while being careful to avoid comparing it to the Village at Meridian.
Property owners and their representatives submitted an application for Quarry Village about a month ago, but the development has been in the works for more than a year. Untouched and unused for 15 years, the old rock quarry sits between Highway 55 and Horseshoe Bend Road, off Hill Road. The 27 acres are currently zoned business park, so the owners are trying to re-zone them to mixed use.
"There is nothing like this in Eagle now and I think to have something where people can live and work and enjoy life without having to drive to Boise or Nampa or Caldwell would be a big benefit," Cole Architects Principal Stan Cole, the main architect behind this project, said.
Greco wants to build a legacy to honor her late father and his business partner, saying on the project's website: "Quarry Village is a dream that has been years in the making. My father Ray Dowding and his partner Myron Stahl bought the old Masterpiece Quarry in 1996. They operated it until my father passed away 15 years ago. My father always envisioned something special being built on this site and it is now my honor and privilege to build a lasting legacy to those two men and our families."
Greco’s vision is to have a balance of upscale residential, office space, retail shops and other services like a luxury theater, bowling alley, and brewery. She wants the development to be centered by a water feature and have an open area for events.
"She has a really great vision in terms of making it a destination community that somebody wants to live in because it's got an active lifestyle, it's got everything you need; it's got cute little restaurants and bars and theaters and bowling alleys and things that, you know, activate a community that people want to live there," Cole said.
Property owners feel it's an area ripe for that type of development, and the time has come.
"The economic growth plus just the physical growth I think will help kind of spur this development and make it successful,” Cole added.
The families are trying to get more access points into Quarry Village and are working with Ada County Highway District and Idaho Transportation Department. The city and architect tell KTVB the application is on hold until those key areas are all ironed out and more information comes out of a traffic study.
Cole expects it will be a long process and they'll have to make modifications to their plans. He says the developers want to start digging early next year.