EAGLE, Idaho — It may be the largest new development that you’ll never see, unless you want to — Valnova, tucked away in the Eagle foothills, has big plans for the future.
- Valnova development will be the next big thing in Ada County.
- The project is off of Highway 16 and is tucked away in the Eagle foothills.
- Valnova is in its first phase of construction.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Valnova means new valley, and it’s the next big thing in Ada County.
“Valnova is basically new valley, what the Spring Valley project used to be before the big crash," said Rob Behunin, Senior director of project strategy for the Utah based company building Valnova.
Behunin says that’s the beauty of it — unlike Avimor on Highway 55, while driving on Highway 16 you really won’t see it.
“The fact that it’s tucked up behind the foothills here in Eagle is absolutely wonderful. It’s a little less cluttered and it’s a little more out of the way, it's off path, and there’s 6,000 acres here of outdoor living.”
Behunin says Valnova’s growth will be a marathon, not a sprint, as it will be a 30- 45-year project from start to finish.
Phase one will see 2,200 units and a community center.
“You’re going to see Lake Valnova," Behunin said — a place for the neighborhood to recreate and relax, complete with a sandy beach.
“For the residents, so they don’t to drive five of six miles, (we'll have) a light retail in town center but back out on 16 we have 88 acres of commercial where we are looking at having the grocery store, gas stations, car washes, those type of things.”
We’ve previously reported that there’s been concern about the added truck traffic on Willow Creek Road, something I asked Behunin about.
RELATED: Long talked about Ada County road expansion is in the works.
“We went to the highway district, we said 'what do we need to do?' Because of the heavy truck traffic, we knew there would be impacts there. And they said yes, 'we’d like you to repair the roads,' and we invest $48,000 of our own money, not impact fees but just saying what we need to do.”
Valnova will use several local builders throughout their different phases and Behunin says it will avoid the "cookie-cutter look."
And when everything is said and done, Valnova and Avimor Developments will allow you to drive from Highway 16 to Highway 55.
