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Boise business uneasy over proposed Boise Sports Park

"As the drawings currently stand, we are 100 percent affected and I'm not OK with that," Dr. Robert Studebaker, owner and dentist with Summit Dental Group, said.

BOISE -- Summit Dental sits on the corner of Americana Boulevard and Shoreline Drive. As the plans stand now, it will be in the shadow of the proposed Boise Sports Park.

KTVB previously brought you the story of an organized group of prominent businessmen speaking out against the proposed mixed-use Boise Sports Park in Downtown Boise. Now, we're hearing from a local business that would be directly impacted by the project.

MORE: Boise businessmen speak out against proposed Boise Sports Park

The stadium and mixed-use development would be built on about 11 acres across five parcels that St. Luke's currently owns.

"We own this one-acre corner," Dr. Robert Studebaker, owner and dentist with Summit Dental Group, said. "As the drawings currently stand, we are 100-percent affected and I'm not OK with that."

Summit Dental Group built their office from the ground up about five years ago. The proposed Boise Sports Park would go right in their front yard and, as current renderings show, onto their property.

"They basically want to bring the exterior wall of the stadium to about where we're standing," Dr. Studebaker said as he stood just next to his parking lot, and on his easement. "The stadium plan would be right on top of us."

Based on updated renderings, Studebaker says more than half of their parking would be reduced and two out of three of their main entrances would be eliminated.

The dental group's main concern, they say, is their patients.

"We want to see Boise thrive, we want to see downtown do well. However, as a business owner I can't let it affect my patients," Studebaker added.

Summit Dental Group has been in infrequent communication with the developer of the stadium and surrounding mixed-use development over the past year and a half.

"We're by no means for sale," Studebaker added. "We have not agreed to sell any of our property to them."

MORE: Boise closer to finalizing mixed-use stadium

They say they want to work with the developer to figure something out. And the developer, Chris Schoen of Greenstone Properties, agrees.

"We hope to be able to come to an agreement that allows us to potentially take a little bit of their parking. We would leave that building in place," Schoen told KTVB in a phone interview. "Our approach is going to be to try to work with them to come up with something that is advantageous to them and is a win-win for both of us."

Schoen tells KTVB he can't force Summit Dental or any other neighboring businesses to do anything.

"If we can't lay a foot on the dentists' property, if we can't lay a foot on any other neighbor's property, we can build the stadium. We can do what we need to do," he said.

He notes the current renderings are very preliminary, and plans will change a "tremendous amount".

"They are conceptual in nature only," Schoen added. "Those will be adjusted a thousand times."

Much of the plan for the roughly $100 million development as a whole - including the sports park and surrounding mixed-use retail, housing and office space - is still up in the air.

"We feel we really don't have much control of anything. We're kind of caught in the middle of all of this, unfortunately," Studebaker added.

If you want to learn more about the project and weigh in, there is an open house Thursday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m. at the Boise Centre on the Grove. The developer tells us they will soon be studying issues like traffic, noise and light pollution - which is something a lot of people are concerned about.

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