Courtesy illustration

BOISE - The long troubled open pit at 8th and Main streets in Downtown Boise is about to enter another chapter - with a forcible liquidation of assets that will likely give the property a new owner.

A large banner hangs over the site that reads "It's what's going up downtown" - a play on a now unused promotional slogan for Downtown Boise. But for now it appears the site will remain home to a pile of dirt, rebar and unfulfilled promises.

Gary Rogers' Charterhouse Development, LLC had hoped to build a 31 story tower on the site called Boise Place.  The project has been troubled since another developer - Rick Peterson - started work on the Boise Tower project in 1997.  Peterson got as far as pouring foundation for his project, selling condos and even unfurling a large banner downtown before he lost the site to Charterhouse in 2006.

What’s next for the public eyesore

Today, Federal Bankruptcy Judge Jim Pappas has converted a bankruptcy filing from Chapter 11 (reorganization) to Chapter 7 (liquidation).  The site will now go on the auction block to help satisfy creditors.

Bankruptcy trustee Bernie Rakozy calls this step a positive one - and says the property could go up for sale in the next 30 days.  The property will be evaluated and the bankruptcy court will try to fetch as much money as possible from its sale to pay creditors.

Charterhouse Boise partner Gary Rogers would not comment to NewsChannel 7.  Pappas had previously granted him two continuances - but today indicated he had had enough.  Pappas said the decision had to be made quickly because "time is money."

Even with the sale - don't expect to see anything other than an empty pit on the site for several years - Rakozy said it could take two to three years before any development begins.

The parcel of land has been vacant for 21 years – since a large fire ravaged the Eastman building which once stood on the site.  In 1997, Peterson announced the Boise Tower – envisioned as Idaho’s tallest building and the crown jewel of redevelopment in the Downtown Boise core.  The project never came to fruition – and with today’s action, the successor Boise Place project is likely dead as well.

Timeline (with links to stories where available)

January 24, 1987

A massive fire destroys the vacant Eastman Building at 8th & Idaho Streets in downtown Boise.

May 21, 1997

- Capital City Development Corporation signed a development agreement with Rick Peterson, who formed Boise Tower Associates to helm the project.

May 19, 1998

- CCDC approves the then-22 story tower.

August 10, 1998

- BTA requested the addition of two additional stories for the tower – bringing the total to 24.

December 14, 1998

- Peterson cites strong interest in the project, as he requests the addition of one more floor – bring the total to 25.

January 24, 2000

- Peterson missed the deadline to show permanent financing and begin construction. The project is put on hold as CCDC investigates allegations that development work is behind schedule.

February 14, 2000

- CCDC accepts recommendations made by Peterson and BTA, and affirms the project.

May 5, 2000

- Permission to being construction of the project is granted.

December 11, 2000

- Peterson says Fremont Bank – based in California has agreed to financially back a majority of the project.

March 14, 2001

- Peterson claims he has secured all funding needed to construct the Tower – meeting deadlines set by CCDC

June 25, 2001

- Official groundbreaking for the Tower.

October 8, 2001

- Secured a new lender with more favorable interest rates to finance the project.

December 5, 2001

- First concrete poured. “There’s a process we go through, and it’s taken us a while, but we’re here now,” Peterson told NewsChannel 7. “We look in about 18 months from now to have a building where we can begin partial occupancy and a full completion in 24 months.”

May 8, 2002

- Peterson admits the building is behind schedule – saying the delay is due to labor negotiations.

July 18, 2002

- In an interview with NewsChannel 7, Peterson said he “wanted it to be finished years ago, but that’s not the way it works.”

November 5, 2002

- CCDC comes out and publicly backs Peterson – and says the agency is committed to finishing the Tower.

November 12, 2002

- Peterson says he has again secured new financing.

January 14, 2003

- Peterson again says he has secured a loan.

February 12, 2003

- Boise City Planning and Development Services revoked the building permit for the Boise Tower. The city claimed construction at the site had stopped for 180 days – the time-limit set by the permit. Peterson says that is not true – and threatens to sue.

April 8, 2003

- Boise City Council overides the decree by PDS and reinstates the permit.

May 8, 2003

- Attorneys for Boise Tower project file a tort against the city

May 13, 2003

- CCDC halts proceedings on default – giving Peterson extra time and one last chance to get the project off the ground

June 10, 2003

- The Capital City Development Corporation says the project is in default – and that BTA owes nearly $14,000 in unpaid taxes on the property.

January 17, 2004

- CCDC shells out $47,000 to build a wooden fence along 8th Street, and restores the sidewalk around the Boise Tower site – which has picked up the nickname “the pit.”

Work resumes at the Boise Tower site, just a few days before the building permits were set to expire. Those permits have now been extended for six months.

February 26, 2004

- CCDC sues BTA –and demands the deed to the property be returned to the agency. Officials say Peterson violated the development agreement signed in 1997.

April 20, 2004

- Peterson files a “deed of trust” – which could give him the right to recover lost money from CCDC if the project fails.

August 24, 2004

- CCDC announces it is looking for a new developer to complete the Tower Project – now taking bids from other parties

February 7, 2005

- CCDC attorneys tell NewsChannel 7 the public agency and BTA are close to a deal to settle the battle for control of the site’s title.

October 8, 2005

- A new, larger wall is erected around the Tower site to block it from public view. Fundraising efforts pulled together the $6,000 needed for the art-covered wall.

March 28, 2006

- CCDC selects a new developer - Charterhouse Development, LLC. With the transfer, CCDC ends involvment in the project.

November 29, 2006

- The Idaho Business Review uncovers a pattern of bankruptcy by Charterhouse, LLC partner Gary Rogers. He admits to the pattern - and says they all came about because his company specializes in rescuing troubled projects like the Boise Tower.

April 9, 2007

- Rogers tells NewsChannel 7 that financing for the project is not the public's business:

"This is a private project being developed with private funds, and we won't be making any public announcements as it relates to our financing or how we end up structuring this because it's not our obligation, and we really don't think that needs to be something the public is aware of."

August 2, 2007

- Charterhouse files for bankruptcy on the project, Rogers says bankruptcy is "sometimes a tool that is used when things don't go the way you want them to."

Jan 15, 2008

- Charterhouse avoids foreclosure, with a deferral from a federal bankruptcy judge

June 16, 2008

- A judge converts the bankruptcy filing to Chapter 7, orders the site sold