Ada County will select a winner for the new Expo Idaho design

Three finalist firms competed to redesign an Ada County park, and one of them came out on top. The winning company will be the county’s top choice to transform the Idaho Garden City Expo grounds into a year-round hub for the community.

Officials have been working on major changes for the eastern portion of the 247-acre property, which does not include the stadium and the Expo itself to the west, the Idaho Statesman reported.

The county used a scoring system to evaluate each applicant while also considering who might be the best fit on a personal level. The evaluations followed a presentation last week where representatives shared concept proposals with the Expo Idaho committee.

“It’s not just the design, it’s the feeling that we’re going to have with this group because it’s a long-term relationship,” Bob Perkins, Ada County’s director of procurement, told commissioners at Tuesday’s board meeting.

After collecting all the points, Porta national company of Philadelphia and Chicago, came out on top with 135.7 points, narrowly edging out Rio with 133.5.

“We really see this as an opportunity to set a precedent, an opportunity to create a public space on the Boise River that is unlike any other public space in the region,” Christopher Marcinkoski, a Port partner, told the committee last week. .

The Port’s proposal focuses on the potential of the landscape. Commissioner Kendra Kenyon also liked the Port’s emphasis on continued community involvement and its understanding of the importance of revenue generation.

“We don’t want it to be a burden on the taxpayers,” Kenyon said. “I really appreciated all (the finalists), but this group in particular had a broader consideration for the long-term and the real value of the operation.”

Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with fee negotiations for a contract with the Port. If those negotiations fail, the county will move to a second option.

What was the winning proposal?

Commissioners emphasized that the proposal presented by the Port is not the final design. According to Expo Idaho planners, this will be a starting point that could change a lot over the course of “months to come,” giving the public a chance to weigh in.

The port’s design was centered around a 25-acre area called “Deely Park,” which included a stage, athletic fields, a running track, remodeled stands, concessions, a seasonal ice skating rink, children’s playgrounds, and an amusement park. center, a skate park and a paved loop for pedestrians and bikers.

The large renovated stand can include an exhibition area and commercial enterprises such as retail stores, equipment rental, restaurants and a fitness area.

The second zone, called the lowest, covers eight ecological environments that run from the center of the park to the river to support a lowland zone.

Over time, that area can be transformed by reclaiming the soil and planting new plants. Marcinkoski suggested the county should have a stewardship mindset toward the area and see it as a long-term investment to improve biodiversity, the Statesman said.

This story was originally published October 18, 2022 15:52.