BOISE There's a lot going on in downtown Boise right now. The building at 8th and Main just had its grand opening celebration. Meanwhile, at 10th and Main there are two new projects in the works.

A developer has plans to bring more housing to downtown Boise, something that is increasing in demand.

If you've driven past 10th and Main, you could have easily passed a building that sits on the corner.

Shane Felker, is the president of Sawtooth Development Group. He wants to renovate the building because it's sat vacant for the past few years.

Some of the buildings along that block have just been neglected, but with so much exciting stuff that's happening just a block or two away, it's really time to start renovating and expand some of that downtown energy in that direction, said Felker.

Felker says the plan is to add an anchor corner restaurant, retail space, office space and upwards of 14 apartments for rent.

There's going to be a tremendous demand for downtown residency, and there aren't options for people right now, so we're extremely excited to bring this to the market, said Felker.

Then just to the south on the same block the plan is to replace the parking lot with 26 to 28 condos and private parking.

We're going to be the first product in downtown Boise that is really a contemporary urban loft design, and we're going to be able to do that and bring it at a price level that's going to function for the workforce downtown, said Felker.

Karen Sander, Executive Director of the Downtown Boise Association, is excited about the momentum happening right now.

That one is exciting because it's mixed use and also adding additional housing to downtown Boise, so a building that's sat empty for a reasonable amount of time and now it's going to have a new life, said Sander.

Add those projects to the JUMP Project, the 8th & Main Building, the renovations to the Owyhee Place, and as Sander says, Boise is in good shape.

Everywhere you look there's something happening, said Sander.

Despite all of the good things happening in downtown Boise, there is some bad news, places like Cafe Ole have been forced to close its doors, but overall, more places are coming downtown than leaving.

The projects at 10th and Main and 10th and Grove still need to have their design reviewed by the city of Boise, but we're told by the developer and the city that there's really nothing keeping these projects from happening.

Construction should begin in 90 to 120 days, and last 10 months. The plan is to have both buildings finished by this time next year.

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