Long Vacant Offices To Become Charter School In Twin Falls

Next to the City Park in Downtown Twin Falls is a long vacant office building. If you have driven by the building at 660 Shoshone Street recently you may have seen that the building has finally been sold. But some mystery still remains about the future of the building. I only entered the building once while it was operational years ago and I don't remember why I went there. I contacted the Twin Falls Economic Development Director, Nathan Murray, wondering how long the building had been vacant and what was it used for previously. He told me that the building pre-dates his time as director. Some seem to recall it being a health clinic building or supplemental city offices.

As you can see in the picture gallery below the building will require a number of fixes outdoors including many broken windows. The inside has been posted as unsafe to occupy. The final picture shows the parking lot purchased for the housing complex.

The building has been purchased by Galena Opportunity Fund for development. In an email from Galena CIO, Daniel Fullmer, I was told they hope to make the building into a charter school. He also told me that they plan to build two housing projects to the north of the building. Currently that location is a parking lot. He didn't have any more specifics about the projects but the Galena website does have info for one of their development plans that could fit their plan description. Future Project #2 Tax Credit Type II Mixed Use Development is a downtown revitalization project charter school including 50 to 80 residential units. Fullmer wouldn't say if that was the Twin Falls project.

This project was hinted at back in November when Murray stated that the project wasn't ready to be formally announced. This news comes just a few months after it was announced that a skyscraper would be built in downtown Twin Falls, replacing the old Idaho Youth Ranch building. The skyscraper should include retail, parking, and housing.

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