If you need an example of Boise’s changing landscape, take a look at the popular Wyld Child, The Stil and Push & Pour on Latah Street, just south of the Morris Hill Cemetery.
For decades, Like-Nu Car Wash filled the corner lot at 13 S. Latah St. with its signs for its “Mega Time! All the Time!” 25-cent washes emblazoned in bold letters. A small wooden stand selling Italian ice moved into the spot in 2018, with tables shaded by the vintage “Car Care Center” canopy with red-checkered supports.
But the modern re-imagining of the site really began in 2020 when Wyld Child, The Stil and Push & Pour started working to redevelop the old car-wash structure into the bustling Bench food-and-drink entertainment complex known today.
The neighborhood could undergo an even bigger change with new plans from Boise’s Erstad Architects to transform a cracked parking lot and an aging office building directly across the street into a four-story, 41-unit apartment building at 10 S. Latah St.
The project is headed by James Marria and Ryan Erstad, an architect and son of Andy Erstad, a founding partner of their namesake architecture firm. Ryan Erstad also serves on the board of commissioners for the city’s Design Review Commission and Capital City Development Corp., the city’s urban renewal agency.