BOISE, Idaho — On Monday night, the Boise Planning and Zoning Committee will hear from one architect who is seeking approval for a plan that would repurpose an old motel into an apartment complex.
Fortified Holdings plans on giving "new life" to an old motel building with a new reuse-focused plan. Their first project will be turning an old motel off of Overland Road and Interstate 84 into a new apartment complex.
“Older motel properties can find new life as workforce and accessible housing at a time when housing is in such short supply across the region,” said Ziad Elsahili, the president of Fortify Holdings told KTVB. “We specialize in remodeling and converting older motel properties like the Howard Johnson building in Boise into revitalized, safe, and clean housing communities.”
According to the lead architect, the hotel rooms are getting a complete renovation.
"As you can see in my background here, they don't look like a hotel room, they're completely gutting them and upgrading all the fixtures and finishes inside making them look like a new apartment unit," Erik Hagen said.
The motel has 88 rooms, about 200 square feet each. Hagen explained to KTVB that he designed the rooms with simplicity and cost savings in mind. Each old motel room is now a smaller-sized studio apartment.
Hagen said the concept is meant to target single working-class adults who need to live close to the interstate or the nearby retail area.
The "adaptive reuse" is beginning to grow across the Northwest. Regardless of the outcome of Monday's meeting, the Oregon-based developer plans on bringing more affordable housing options to the Treasure Valley in the future.
The Planning and Zoning meeting will begin at 6 p.m.
Editor's Note: This article will be updated when further information is made available. Check back for updates.
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