Three developers who thought they’d struck a deal with the state to redevelop the old Idaho Transportation Department campus in Boise just lost their fight to save it.
In a surprise ruling before oral arguments were scheduled to take place, the Idaho Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously against the trio and in favor of legislators who thought the deal wasn’t good enough.
The court’s ruling likely kills plans by Boise’s Hawkins Cos. and The Pacific Cos. and Utah’s FJ Management to convert the property at 3311 W. State St. into over 2,000 homes and about 150,000 square feet of commercial space.
They had believed the $51.8 million sale was virtually a done deal when the Legislature stepped in and passed two bills revoking it. State officials were on the verge of signing the deal when the Legislature intervened, leading them to delay signing — a key decision, the Supreme Court said, because it meant the developers had no legally enforceable agreement.
Gov. Brad Little did not sign or veto either of the two budget bills that revoked the sale, allowing them to become law. But he said that the legislation “unfairly cancels an agreed-upon sales process, causing future reputational risk for the state of Idaho.”