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Essential Housing
for the Boise Community

A Legacy Investment in Boise’s Future

After the 2024 sale of its operating assets to WebMD Ignite, Boise-founded nonprofit Eyes on Health (formerly Healthwise) made a deliberate choice: reinvest locally.

A portion of its North End property is being donated for the development of Juniper Springs Apartments, a community developed by The Housing Company. The project is designed to serve essential workers earning below 60% of area median income (AMI).

At a time when nearly half of Boise’s housing demand is for attainable units, this is a rare example of a nonprofit reinvesting directly into the local community, turning land into long-term housing for teachers, healthcare workers, and first responders and service professionals.

Eyes on Health helped millions of people make better health decisions nationwide.
Now, that mission comes home, grounded in a simple idea: Stable housing is foundational to health.

Project Snapshot

Total Homes: 45 apartments
• 30 one-bedroom (649 sq ft)
• 11 two-bedroom (909 sq ft)
• 4 three-bedroom (1,152 sq ft)
• 5 market-rate units included

Building Size: 49,700 square feet
Height: 4 stories (max 45 feet)
Parking: 56 spaces

The Housing Company's rendering of Juniper Springs.

Amenities Designed for Everyday Living

Playground
Community room
Computer room
Bike storage
Laundry facilities
Fully equipped kitchens
(range, refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher)
Secure access to common areas
Onsite management

The Core Apartments (left), a 74-unit community in Nampa, was developed and is managed by The Housing Company.

Rent

(subject to change)

Juniper Springs
(Income-Restricted Units):

1-bedroom: $514 – $1,500 (market rate unit at top end)
2-bedroom: $980 – $1,825 (market rate unit at top end)
3-bedroom: $1,276 – $1,669

Key Comparison Points:

$1,745 — Average rent in Boise (Zillow, Jan. 2025)
$1,447 — HUD Fair Market Rent (2-bedroom, Idaho)
$1,341 — Max rent at Juniper (2-bedroom, 60% AMI)
$1,915 — Comparable market rent (Danter & Associates)

Juniper Springs delivers housing below or at market benchmarks,
with long-term affordability protections.

Who Juniper Springs Serves

Juniper Springs is designed for working households, not luxury renters and not exclusively the lowest-income tier.

Residents typically include:

Teachers
Medical assistants and healthcare staff
City and service workers
Retail and hospitality employees
Early-care providers

These are people who often earn too much to qualify for deep subsidies, but not enough to afford market rents in Boise.

Boise’s housing market has shifted rapidly. The gap between wages and rents continues to widen.

Nearly half of housing demand is for attainable units
Workforce households are increasingly priced out
Long commutes and displacement are rising

This project directly addresses that gap.

Why Eyes on Health Is Involved

“We’ve spent decades helping people make better health decisions.
Housing is one of the most important factors in long-term health.
This is an extension of that mission—right here in Boise.”

This isn’t a developer-driven land acquisition.
It’s a mission-driven land donation.

That distinction matters.

About The Housing Company

The Housing Company is an Idaho-based nonprofit developer with decades of experience creating and managing affordable housing communities across the state.

What sets it apart:

Long-term ownership and stewardship
Deep compliance and affordability expertise
Community-first approach to development
Proven track record across Idaho markets

This isn’t speculative development. It’s durable housing infrastructure.

Alder Apartments (right), a 72-unit community in Twin Falls, was developed and is managed by The Housing Company.

Stay Connected & Informed

Review project updates here on this webpage
Scan the on-site QR code signage (coming soon)
Stay engaged with local conversations, and separate perception from reality

Wood Rose Apartments (above), a 46-unit community in Meridian, was developed and is managed by The Housing Company.

F A Q

We understand the desire for open space. But Boise is facing a real housing shortage.

As a mission-driven organization, we prioritize housing people over preserving underutilized land. This site can either remain static or serve dozens of working households for decades.

Traffic Study & Transportation Impact

This project includes 56 parking spaces for 45 units, which exceeds typical ratios, especially considering:

67% of units are one-bedroom
Many residents will be single-occupancy households

Traffic Evaluated by Independent Transportation Engineers

As part of the planning process for Juniper Springs, a professional traffic study was completed to evaluate how the community would affect surrounding roads and intersections.

The study examined anticipated vehicle trips generated by the development and analyzed traffic operations at key nearby intersections, including Hill Road and Bogus Basin Road. The goal was to determine whether the addition of Juniper Springs would create significant congestion or negatively affect roadway performance.

Traffic Data Reflects Typical Neighborhood Conditions

Traffic counts were collected on April 14 during a continuous 13-hour period (6 a.m. to 7 p.m.) to capture the full range of daily travel patterns, including the morning school commute, midday activity, and the evening peak period.

Boise School District classes were in session that day, meaning the data reflects a typical weekday rather than reduced summer, holiday, or weekend traffic conditions. While traffic can increase during portions of the ski season, transportation agencies generally rely on representative weekday counts collected during the school year when evaluating development proposals. For that reason, the April 14 data provides an appropriate basis for assessing the project's transportation impacts.

A Small Development with Minimal Traffic Impacts

The proposed 45-unit apartment community is well below the City of Boise's and Ada County Highway District's (ACHD) thresholds for requiring a formal Traffic Impact Analysis.

Using industry-standard trip generation methods, the development is expected to generate approximately 11 vehicle trips during the morning peak hour and 19 vehicle trips during the evening peak hour. This level of activity is considered low-volume and is not expected to meaningfully affect the surrounding street network. Because the project falls below established City and ACHD thresholds, a detailed intersection analysis is not required.

Consistent with the City's Vision for the Site

The property is located within Boise's R-3 zoning district, the City's highest-density residential designation. This district is intended to accommodate higher-density housing while also supporting compatible commercial, office, and mixed-use development.

Compared with many other uses permitted under the existing zoning, the proposed apartment community is expected to generate less traffic than many commercial or office developments that could be built on the site. The project also takes advantage of an established network of sidewalks and pedestrian connections linking residents to the North End neighborhood, nearby services, and the City's trail system.

By providing much-needed housing in an area already planned for urban residential development, the proposal aligns with Boise's long-term planning goals while generating relatively modest traffic impacts.

What the Study Found

The analysis concluded that Juniper Springs is expected to have only a minimal impact on traffic operations in the area.

Key findings include:

Traffic generated by the development represents a small addition to existing roadway volumes.
The Hill Road and Bogus Basin Road intersection was evaluated for capacity and performance.
The development was projected to increase vehicle queue lengths by approximately five feet during peak conditions.
Overall intersection operations and roadway capacity are expected to remain within acceptable performance standards.
No significant traffic impacts were identified that would require major roadway modifications.

Designed for the Neighborhood

Juniper Springs is a 45-unit workforce housing community intended to serve local essential workers, including teachers, healthcare employees, service workers, nonprofit staff, and other members of Boise's workforce. Because of its modest size and location within an already developed urban area, the project is expected to generate traffic levels consistent with other residential uses permitted under the site's current zoning.

Commitment to Responsible Development

The Housing Company is committed to working closely with the City of Boise, Ada County Highway District (ACHD), and neighborhood stakeholders throughout the development process. Traffic safety, pedestrian access, and neighborhood compatibility remain important considerations as the project moves forward.

The traffic study helps ensure that decisions about Juniper Springs are informed by professional analysis and objective data, providing a factual foundation for discussions about the project's transportation impacts.