Idaho lawmakers nixed the sale of ITD’s campus in Boise. The developers have responded

A trio of developers has sued the state of Idaho after the Legislature canceled a $51.8 million sale of the 44-acre Idaho Transportation Department campus on State Street.

In September, the Department of Administration selected a winning bid from three companies — Boise-based Hawkins Cos. and The Pacific Cos, and Utah-based FJ Management — to redevelop the state-owned property. Plans for the mostly vacant site at 3311 W. State St. included building over 2,000 homes and developing around 150,000 square feet of commercial space.

The group believed it was a done deal when the state selected the offer, but some legislators took offense, arguing that the state was shortchanged on the deal. Others argued that it would send money to the city’s urban renewal agency, the Capital City Development Corp., if it switched to private ownership, because the site falls within its newest district along a well-traveled city corridor.

The House and Senate voted to scrap the sale after months of back-and-forth arguments by passing two budget bills that revoked the Department of Administration’s ability to sell the property. Gov. Brad Little said overturning the deal was unfair and could hurt the state, but allowed the bills to become law by choosing to neither sign nor veto them.

“It unfairly cancels an agreed-upon sales process, causing future reputational risk for the state of Idaho,” Little wrote in a letter to the Idaho House, led by Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, who championed voiding the sale.

Earlier this month, Brian Huffaker, CEO of Hawkins Cos., said the developers would be “exploring legal action.”

“While disappointed we must turn to the courts to enforce fair business practices in the state, we believe it is necessary to challenge the Legislature’s heavy-handed and plainly unconstitutional interference into a competitively bid land sale,” Huffaker said in an emailed statement Friday.

“We are confident the outcome of this litigation will be a win for small government and free-market advocates across Idaho.”

The developers submitted a petition for a writ of prohibition and writ of mandate to the Idaho Supreme Court, which would prevent a lower court from interfering with the higher court’s determination of a case pending an appeal, according to the Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute.

According to the plaintiffs’ brief, the developers’ bid for the property was $13 million over the state’s appraisal of the campus.

“Up until the 2024 session, the Legislature had spent millions funding the relocation of ITD to the former Hewlett Packard Campus on W. Chinden Blvd.,” according to the brief. “However, as the 2024 legislative session approached, certain lawmakers determined that the accepted price for the ITD campus was, in their minds, inadequate and that ITD should not relocate.”

The lawsuit alleges that the two budget bills violated the Idaho Constitution and case law that has existed for over 100 years stating that appropriations — or budget — bills are not allowed to modify general law.

“Because the budget bills violate the constitutional test of unity of subject matter, the offending provisions of the budget bills should be declared void and ineffective,” the petition states.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Raúl Labrador said the AG’s office would not comment on pending litigation.