These new apartments would house some of Boise’s most needy people. Where

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June allowed cities to impose bans on public camping — effectively allowing police to issue tickets to homeless people. But Boise Mayor Lauren McLean pushed back, saying it would have no impact on the city’s efforts to address homelessness and affordable housing.

“Criminalizing homelessness has never, and will never, solve the problems associated with homelessness,” McLean said in a statement on the day of the verdict. “We must address the root causes with proven strategies like permanent supportive housing.”

Tents are pitched along Cooper Court, an alley frequently frequented by homeless people. A June 2024 Supreme Court ruling allowed cities to enforce bans on outdoor sleeping, but Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said she would focus instead on providing supportive housing.

On Tuesday, the city announced that additional investments will be made in this project.

The city is partnering with The Pacific Cos., a real estate firm based in Eagle, to provide financing for 95 new apartments for people experiencing homelessness at New Path 2.0, according to a news release. The development is an addition to New Path, a 40-unit apartment building at 2200 W. Fairview Ave. that offers permanent supportive housing.

The expansion would more than double the number of permanent apartments in Boise built to house the chronically homeless, including the 40 apartments at New Path and the 26 apartments specifically for veterans at Valor Pointe on State Street in the Veterans Park neighborhood.

Boise is releasing new funding to expand its New Path apartment building at 2200 W. Fairview Ave. to house more people considered chronically homeless.

Like its predecessor, which opened in 2018, New Path 2.0 aims to provide case management, health care, mental health services, substance abuse treatment and more to residents. The goal is to empower people experiencing long-term homelessness to succeed in what Council President Colin Nash called a “proven model” for addressing the root causes of homelessness, the release said.

New Path saved the city $6.7 million in its first four years, according to a study by the Idaho Policy Institute at Boise State University. When residents had housing, they were much less likely to need medical care, suffer mental health crises or be arrested, the Statesman previously reported.

The cost of services at New Path is just over $700,000 a year, Weeg said. Tenants pay 30 percent of their income, if any, toward rent. The rest is covered by a federal housing voucher. A standard apartment includes a bedroom, a bathroom, a living room, a refrigerator, stoves and ovens, and several closets, the Statesman reported.

Each unit at New Path Community Housing has the usual amenities of an apartment, such as a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living room.

New Path takes a “housing first” approach — based on the idea that housing is the primary need for homeless people, and that treatment for mental health or substance abuse can follow. These services are available — but not required — to residents.

The total cost of the New Path 2.0 project is $35 million, with the city providing $5.5 million, Maria Weeg, a spokesperson for the city, told the Idaho Statesman in an email. The City Council was scheduled to approve the funding at a meeting Tuesday night. The project is fully through the planning process and is expected to receive building permits soon, she said.

In May, McLean committed an additional $7.5 million in seed funding, to be matched by local businesses and philanthropists, to establish a fund to support “wraparound supportive services” at permanent supportive housing sites, including New Path, according to Tuesday’s news release.

The investments are part of the city’s goal to add 250 permanent supportive housing units by 2026.

According to data from Our Path Home, a public-private partnership working to end homelessness in Ada County, there were 687 people experiencing homelessness in Ada County in January 2023. The “point-in-time” data, based on a single-night count, reflected a roughly 10% increase in overall homelessness since 2022 and is likely an underestimate, the organization said. The organization said there has been a 12% decrease in overall homelessness in the area since 2012.

Cities can now impose bans on people sleeping outside. What does that mean for Boise?

‘Need is great’: Project would boost housing for Boise’s homeless. Will the city help fund it?

Boise ‘has a chance … to solve its homeless problem’ and sees apartment complex as a big step

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