BOISE, Idaho — The Capitol City Development Corps (CCDC) begins Phase Three of the ongoing 11th Street Rebuild project currently closing multiple sections of 11th street through downtown Boise.
Phase Three will close the one-block stretch of 11th Street between Jefferson and State for the next three weeks, according to CCDC. The project will officially be completed in January of 2024.
Multiple sections have been postponed and lagged behind schedule, according to business owners impacted by multiple construction projects downtown. A section of Phase One, stretching from Front to Idaho, was supposed to be completed in March, according to Baby Blues and Pink Owner Shawna Loveland.
"Had I known [of the pending construction], I would have never ever come down here," Loveland said. "They've torn up the road two more times."
Loveland opened her baby boutique in COVID; she invested in the business a month before the pandemic. However, her business had grown 30% from year to year. She has stalled out since construction blocked off parking near her business and closed nearby roads.
"I had two people hired in 2020. And they just had to be let go. Sadly, one right at Christmas time, you know, and I felt horrible, but it's to the point where I have to save this business, or I won't have anything. So, I'm here," Loveland said. "We've had to grind it out and it's not just me, you guys it's all of this business around here. Everyone's impacted."
Kevin Chapman Foot Dynamics a block east of Baby Blues and Pink. In 12 years on Main Street, this is the first time his business has not grown; he reported profits dropped by 50% compared to last year. In April, Chapman told KTVB this construction negatively impacted his business more than COVID.
Chapman's customers are often referred by a doctor needing help with foot and ankle injuries. He has signed a lease to move - at the very least - parts of his business out of the city center to allow these patients the opportunity to park near his business and get the help they need.
Loveland is considering the same.
"To be honest. Yes. Yes, I am. And I don't want to because I want to stay here. This is where I'm from," Loveland said. "No one should have allowed all this building down at one time."
CCDC projects the 11th street rebuild will finish all projects by the end of October; that does not include Phase Three that has started at the beginning of this month.
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