Idaho looks to take over former high-tech campus for new state office complex
BOISE – Gov. Butch Otter says Idaho is seeking approval to negotiate the purchase of the HP Boise campus as “a new home for the Idaho State Tax Commission and several other state agencies.”
The sprawling West Boise high-tech campus formerly housed thousands of Hewlett-Packard Corp. workers.
The office building where the state Tax Commission is housed is being sold to a local hospital. The state’s lease will not be renewed.
The state now leases more than 800,000 square feet of office and warehouse space in Ada County at an annual cost of $12.2 million, said Bob Geddes director of the state Department of Administration.
The HP property is almost 200 acres and includes eight buildings with approximately 1.3 million square feet of office space and 200,000 square feet of warehouse space, according to Otter’s office; HP still uses a portion of the facility. The purchase price is estimated at $110 million; the state also plans to spend $16 million on renovation, and bond for a total of $126 million.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted 6-1 on Thursday to introduce legislation allowing the state to issue bonds and negotiate for the purchase. The governor’s office said the state issued a request for proposals in October for state office space and received 46 responses.
“This opportunity for an agreement with a valued business leader will benefit both parties and addresses a pressing need for the state of Idaho,” Otter said. “We’ve been looking hard for the right place at the right price for our agencies, and the HP campus really fits the bill. A great employer is reinforcing its commitment to Idaho and the state is saving money, so it’s a win-win.”
As part of the proposed purchase and sale agreement, HP would lease back more than half the office space in the complex for an initial seven-year term. The state also would assume third-party leases with other entities already located on the campus. Initially, the state would use 152,000 square feet of office space at the West Boise location, increasing to 366,000 square feet in 2020 as those other third-party leases expire.
House Minority Leader Mat Erpelding, D-Boise, cast the only vote against the move.
The bill was opposed by both the Association of Idaho Cities and the Idaho Association of Counties, who raised questions about the impacts it could have both in Boise and in other parts of the state, such as when the state endowment purchases large tracts of timber land in North Idaho.
Seth Grigg of the cities association said, “This is new to us – we weren’t consulted on this particular issue. And we are very concerned about the potential impact this would have on the taxing districts here. There is potential this could have impacts elsewhere.”
Teresa Baker, of the counties association, told the committee, “Even when property comes off the tax rolls, there still is a need to provide services to that property,” from fire and police to schools and snow removal.