MURA ends 6th and Jackson agreement

The Moscow Urban Renewal Agency agreed to end its partnership with two local business owners chosen to develop the vacant lot on the corner of Sixth and Jackson streets.

The agency entered into an exclusive negotiation agreement in September with Carly Lilly and George Skandalos, who proposed building a mixed-use building on the vacant land owned by the MURA. Skandalos and Lilly met with the agency Thursday morning to explain the challenges they faced while trying to make their vision for their project a reality.

The multi-story building they proposed would have housed their Sangria restaurant, as well as retail, office and apartment spaces.

The project stalled after they learned the soil on that corner lot was not stable enough to support a multi-story building. The project would have required costly excavation of that land, and a smaller building would not provide the revenue the owners need to make the building cost-effective.

“It’s just a challenging piece of property,” said Moscow deputy city supervisor Cody Riddle.

After further discussions with their architects, Lilly and Skandalos agreed to step aside.

“We are not saying this is a lost cause, we just wonder if our involvement as a private developer is potentially hindering the final vision and manifestation of this property coming into being,” Lilly said.

MURA member Nancy Tribble commended Lilly and Skandalos by saying their “due diligence has been above and beyond.”

Lilly said that if they went forward with excavating the soil, they would have had to cut costs elsewhere, and that would have resulted in an eyesore of a building.

“If that was the solution, I don’t think that George and I would feel comfortable putting our name behind that and permanently marring the landscape of the downtown district,” she said.

Lilly said they wanted to create a building that Moscow could be proud of for the next 50 or more years.

Riddle said MURA could pursue grants to fund remediation of that Sixth and Jackson site. But it is legally prohibited from funding a private project directly. Riddle suggested that as the agency moves forward, it can ask for public feedback on what the vision of the Sixth and Jackson project should be.

Skandalos urged the agency to pursue projects that add to the vibrancy of downtown. He said downtown Moscow has become “sleepier” since the COVID-19 pandemic because many retail stores and restaurants do not stay open late. He would like the Sixth and Jackson lot to be a place that is open in the evenings and on the weekends.

The agency will also have to make a decision about Hello Walk, a proposed pathway connecting the University of Idaho campus to downtown Moscow. The initial design for Lilly and Skandalos’ mixed-use building included a section of “Hello Walk” that bisected the property.

But this walkway left little room for the building and its parking lot, and eventually became a “fatal blow” to the development, Lilly said.

MURA member Tom Lamar said he still feels that Hello Walk is worth pursuing, but it does not have to be a straight line from the UI campus to downtown.

This would mark the second time Lilly and Skandalos have attempted to develop the Sixth and Jackson lot without success. They were previously selected to develop the land in 2015. Another local developer chosen by MURA, Rusty Olps, also could not get the project off the ground, and MURA ended its agreement with him in early 2023.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.