After years of research and finally deciding on a Boise location, leaders with the College of Western Idaho unveiled their plans for a new Ada County campus.
Planners researched a ton of properties over the last two years, before choosing the location in west downtown off Main Street, backing up to the Boise Greenbelt and Quinn's Pond.
"This site down here will be an urban campus," CWI president Berton Glandon said. "They'll be bikes, bussing and all kinds of other ways to commute to the campus site that will not be long distance."
The Board of Trustees decided the spot - currently a large parking lot - was the perfect opportunity to consolidate services offered in Ada County.
"The real key is that we're serving over 8,000 students in Ada County right now in our multiple locations; this will provide one site where the students can go and get not only their business degrees and technical degrees but they also will be able to get their associate transfer degree - English, Math, Science, History - to transfer to the local universities," Glandon said.
The new urban site leaves Boise Mayor David Beiter confident not only will it produce thousands of educated Idahoans into the workforce after graduation, but says it will only improve the west side of town.
"We know that there's other businesses looking to come here, maybe even a grocer, certainly residential uses are coming close to here," Beiter said.
"This will provide us with an opportunity really be an economic engine for the valley in Ada County and deliver to those students in this local area," Glandon said.
