POCATELLO — NeighborWorks Pocatello wants to build affordable senior apartments on city-owned land near Sacajawea Park. Wednesday night, the Planning and Zoning Commission will decide whether the zoning will allow it.

The commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 911 N. 7th Ave.

On the agenda is a request by Ryan Hackett, in partnership with NeighborWorks Pocatello, to rezone approximately 2 acres of a 19-acre city-owned parcel near the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Gathe Drive from Residential Medium Density Multi-Family to Residential/Commercial/Professional — a denser designation that would allow the nonprofit to build a pair of three-story, 24-unit buildings on the site.

The commission will also consider redesignating the parcel’s future land use from Open Space to Mixed-Use. In the staff report for the request, city planners noted the designation change is appropriate given the area’s growth in recent years. Without it, the plan won’t be able to move forward.

The project has been in the works since at least May, when city staff and NeighborWorks brought the concept to the City Council during a work session. The original idea was to support the project through Community Development Block Grant funding, but the available CDBG money was too limited to make a meaningful difference in the project’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit application. So, city staff and NeighborWorks pivoted, exploring whether the city could contribute the land itself.

City attorneys determined the city cannot donate land outright but can enter into a long-term lease agreement — up to 99 years. According to materials presented at the May work session, a long-term lease would satisfy the LIHTC application requirements, reduce acquisition costs for the project and fulfill the community contribution categories that strengthen the application’s competitive score.

The concept plan calls for a two-phase development on approximately 1.2 acres of the 2-acre rezoned portion. Phase one would be a three-story, 24-unit building targeting low-income seniors — with 15 units reserved for households at or below 50 percent of area median income and nine units for those at or below 60 percent. NeighborWorks submitted its LIHTC application to the state earlier this month and anticipates a funding award of approximately $4.1 million in November, with an additional $1.8 million expected from the Federal Home Loan Bank in December. If everything falls into place, design would wrap up by April 2027 and construction would begin in May 2027.

Phase two, also 24 units across three stories on the same parcel, would follow with a separate LIHTC application in August 2027. A future phase envisions using the remaining acreage as a housing trust fund site for single-family homes for low-income homeowners and workforce housing.

The parcel — a 19-acre expanse between 950 and 1132 Foothill Blvd. — is largely undeveloped. A portion serves as a stormwater collection pond, and another section falls within the FEMA-designated Portneuf River floodplain. According to the staff report, neither of those constrained areas overlaps with the 2 acres NeighborWorks is looking to rezone and develop. The property was previously used as a gravel pit by the Idaho Transportation Department before coming into city ownership and is adjacent to — but not part of — Sacajawea Park.

The project aligns with several priorities outlined in the city’s planning documents. Pocatello’s Comprehensive Plan identifies affordable and authentic neighborhoods as a core goal, and the city’s housing study specifically called for rent-restricted multifamily housing, use of the city-owned land inventory and infill redevelopment — categories this project falls under, according to the staff report.

The commission will also consider two other land use matters at Wednesday’s meeting.

The first is a preliminary plat application from Sunrise Engineering on behalf of Portneuf Valley Gap Investors, LLC, to subdivide roughly 19 acres east of Century High School into 18 commercial lots in the 7800 block of South Fifth Avenue. City planning staff found that application compliant with city code.

The second is a rezoning request from Stewart Ward of Dioptra, LLC, on behalf of Pro Equity Holdings, LLC, to rezone a small property at 215 W. Halliday St. and 621 S. Harrison Ave. from Light Industrial to RCP. The property has historically housed multi-family residential structures and a detached dwelling unit. Staff concluded in its report that the existing residential use is more consistent with an RCP designation than the current Light Industrial zoning and recommended approval.

Wednesday’s meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 911 N. 7th Ave. The Planning and Zoning Commission serves in an advisory capacity — its recommendations on the rezoning requests will be forwarded to the City Council for final action.