What's next for the Caldwell Event Center District after approval?

CALDWELL, Idaho — The Caldwell Event Center District plan is in the works after City Council approval. The plan was developed after conversations about a possible amphitheater in Caldwell. The two plans are now a guide for future developments to happen in the growing city.

(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)

As I previously reported in November, four out of six Council Members approved the Caldwell Event Center District plan covering 904 total acres on Linden and Blaine, 200 of those being within the focus area.

This comes after the council asked staff to come up with a plan for the development, prompted by conversations earlier this year about an amphitheater in Caldwell.

After blueprints of what the plans could look like were released by the city's hired consultants local businesses worried they would not be included.

"This plan just in thinking of the concepts that were provided, it could look very different from, it could be we could go from one direction or the other. The overall goal from the consultant's perspective was to take in community feedback, look in the stakeholder, and take in their feedback as well and devise a concept on how people wanted to see this area grow," said Caldwell Economic Development Director Steve Jenkins.

With clarification, the sports concept plan that would upgrade the existing softball fields and a garden concept plan that would highlight the roots of the city were just plans of what Caldwell could look like over the years as development in the city continues to grow.

"We wanted to create some energy and enthusiasm on how this area could develop, so with that said, the businesses that are currently here and operating if they choose to be here in the next 20-40years have their prerogative to do so," said Jenkins.

Now the goal is to use possibly both plans to help staff and council members choose where development would best fit the area.

"And the city needed something just to give us some direction we wanted to cast a vision for this area," said Jenkins.

Before the approval of the Event Center District plan, another possible development was in the works which meets the placement in both plans.

The possible development of a 100+ room hotel in front of the Canyon County Fairgrounds.

The development has yet to be discussed and will be brought to the Council Members in the next meeting.