The state’s deal to sell ITD’s State Street campus is near death. Will Little kill it?

The deal to sell the Idaho Transportation Departments 44-acre headquarters along State Street took a step closer to the scrapyard after the Idaho House and Senate voted to dismantle the deal.

After months of back-and-forth negotiations, frustration and — at times — fireworks between legislators, the $51.8 million deal is on its last breath as the bill to cancel the sale passed Wednesday night and headed to Gov. Brad Little for his signature or veto.

The bill, HB 770, focused on ITD’s 2025 budget and added language that revoked the Department of Administration’s ability to sell the property. The House passed the bill 37-31 and sent it to the Senate, which passed it on a razor-thin margin, 18-17.

Gov. Little could still veto the bill and allow the sale to go through. After passing the bill, legislators recessed until April 10, meaning they could attempt to override a veto by Little when they return. But that would require a two-thirds majority in each house.

The trio of developers who were awarded the sale in September, Hawkins Cos., The Pacific Cos. and FJ Management, previously said they were considering legal action if the state scrapped what they had thought was a done deal.

“We’re obviously extremely disappointed by what happened to this deal,” wrote Brian Huffaker, CEO of Hawkins Cos. “The Idaho Legislature sent a clear message to the free market: Don’t do business with us. All of Idaho — citizens and businesses alike — should be concerned.”

Huffaker said he hoped legislators and media pay attention to how much money the decision would cost the state. He said millions of dollars have been spent already to move ITD to a different campus. He said the decision would block job creation and new tax revenue.

“We expect people will hold our lawmakers accountable,” Huffaker said. “The governor can still do the right thing and honor this deal by authorizing the Department of Administration to sign the completed agreement that has been sitting on its desk since March 21.”

A spokesperson for Little said the Governor’s Office doesn’t comment on pending legislation.

A months-long battle over redevelopment

The saga has played out since the legislative session opened in January.

When the Department of Administration announced the sale there was little standing in the way of the developers’ plans to redevelop the mostly vacant property into over 2,000 homes and about 150,000 square feet of commercial space.

The construction alone could provide 3,800 temporary local jobs and $150 million in salaries and wages, according to a statement from a public relations firm that represents Hawkins. The development could provide an ongoing 1,300 permanent jobs and $52 million in salaries and wages after construction finished, the statement said.

But when the session convened in January, it quickly became clear that some legislators took issue with the sale.

House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, introduced a bill to cancel rules allowing the Department of Administration to sell the property and said that the sale would strip the state of a property that agencies could use in the future.

Moyle also took issue with the property sending tax money to the city’s urban renewal agency, the Capital City Development Corp., if it switched to private ownership. That’s because the site falls within Boise’s newest urban renewal district, along State Street.

That bill, HB 409, passed the House, but never was put up for a vote in the Senate, whose president pro tem, Sen. Chuck Winder, a Boise Republican, insisted that the state keep its word and complete the sale.

Two more bills, House Bills 723 and 726, also passed the House and were sent to the Senate for discussion. The bills would have set the Transportation Department’s budget for 2025 and would have forced the agency to renovate the flood-damaged State Street campus. They also would have revoked the Department of Administration’s ability to sell the property.

Both bills died Thursday, March 28, in the Senate in a 16-19 vote after an animated debate that ran on for nearly two hours.

“This is a hill I want to die on if I have to,” Winder said on the floor during that debate. “I’m going to fight this tooth and nail because it is so far out of line.”

Sen. Geoff Schroeder, R-Mountain Home, and Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anthon, R-Burley, switched their no votes for HB 723 to yes votes for HB 770 — sealing the passage of the bill to kill the State Street deal.

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