By Sean Ellis
The plan to construct a new Idaho Wheat Commission building, discussed and planned for years, is no longer in a holding pattern.
IWC officials are moving ahead with plans for a new, $14 million Idaho Wheat and Ag Center, as the building is called.
The old building was razed in December. Construction on the new building is set for this spring and it is expected to be completed in spring 2026.
The new building, at 31,000 square feet, will be almost four times bigger than the old building.
The wheat commission, which used to pay rent for a space in the Owyhee Plaza in downtown Boise, purchased its current building at 821 W. State Street, one block from the Idaho Capitol building, for $1.2 million in 2003.
The old building, which was built in 1945, had reached a point where significant investments were needed to maintain it, said IWC Executive Director Britany Hurst Marchant.
“It had just reached a point where significant investment was necessary just to maintain the functionality and to update heating, cooling, wiring and safety components of the building,” she said. “After evaluating all of the options, it was just very clear that a new building was the most fiscally responsible way to go to meet the needs and objectives of the Idaho Wheat Commission and to be responsible stewards of wheat growers’ dollars.”
“We just needed to build a new building,” said Rockland farmer and IWC member Cory Kress. “We decided to maximize our space availability and build it as big as we could.”
Besides the wheat commission, tenants of the recently razed building included the Idaho Barley Commission, Idaho Grain Producers Association, Idaho Wine Commission, Idaho Bean Commission, Milk Producers of Idaho and leading staff from the University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Since 2003, the building basically served as a brain hub of Idaho agriculture, especially during the legislative session, when Food Producers of Idaho, which represents about 40 of the state’s main agricultural organizations, met there weekly to discuss various pieces of legislation that could impact the state’s agricultural industry.
“The old building has served us and the industry very well and I look forward to the new building,” said North Idaho wheat farmer and former IWC Commissioner Bill Flory. “It’s a meeting place for the industry and the wheat commission has always been generous with meeting space.”
Marchant hopes the synergy created with other ag groups continues with the new building.
“Having that collaboration and camaraderie between each of the groups is so valuable,” she said. “We have the same issues in a lot of ways and we may approach those differently, but we’re all working toward, ultimately, the same end goal.”
The new, four-story building will house several ag commodity groups, like the old building did.
The ground floor will be at least partially retail or “active use,” which means people come in and out frequently. The second and third floors will be offices and the top floor with be meeting space.
“Everything’s bigger,” including meeting rooms, Marchant said. “We increased the size of the meeting rooms and added more meeting rooms. We’ll have three different sizes of meeting space in the new building so it can accommodate large groups, medium-sized groups, and smaller groups.”
The idea of a new Idaho Wheat Commission building has been talked about for quite some time and was delayed for various reasons, including COVID-19.
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