Boise-The family of the late J.R. Simplot, an Idaho agribusiness multi-billionaire who died a year ago May 25 at the age of 99, plans to invest $100 million to convert a nearly vacant four-block area in downtown Boise into a parkscape that will include an agriculture museum. Private funds from the Simplot Family Foundation will pay for the project on slightly more than seven acres. Called “Jack’s Urban Meeting Place,” the project has been in the works for 10 years, Simplot spokesman David Cuoio said. Simplot earned his estimated $3.5 billion in wealth by building an international empire on phosphate fertilizer, mining, frozen food production, and cattle operations. Construction is set to begin in spring 2010 and expected to take 2.5 years to complete. It will provide more than 1,000 jobs, Cuoio said. The Simplot family already owns most of the land, and warehouses will be removed. The project will go through the normal permitting and design review process. There has been talk over the years of linking the project to a new convention center and expansion of a science discovery center. A four-acre park will form the heart of Jack’s Urban Meeting Place. The building’s structure, shaped like a pointed oval, will form a perimeter around the park. Other planned features tentatively will include an amphitheater for live events, with dinner seating for more than 500 and theater-style seating for nearly 1,200; a sculpture garden with a display of antique tractors; a variety of outdoor and indoor venues for gatherings; and studio space for artists. It also may house the J.R. Simplot Co.’s world headquarters.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain