City officials excited about residential and commercial growth in American Falls

AMERICAN FALLS – Like many communities in eastern Idaho, American Falls has seen a lot of new residential and commercial projects popping up, and even more are on the way.

“Other businesses and families are realizing what we’ve known all along — that American Falls is a great place to put down roots,” says Mayor Rebekah Sorenson.

A new supermarket is coming to the city – Ridley’s Family Market at 2827 Pocatello Avenue. According to Mark Ridley, director of operations, store founder Anita Ridley grew up in Pocatello and had always wanted to open a location in American Falls.

“So this location is somewhat of a dream come true for her and the Ridley Family,” says Ridley.

The new Ridley’s will have a large produce department, a full service meat department with in store butchers, a full service deli, a scratch bakery, a full service pharmacy, self check out, full service online shopping, access to advantage card and R Perks Savings programs and an Arctic Circle restaurant with a drive thru.

Major construction on the building should finish within the next couple of months and the store should open before the end of the year.

Once open and fully staffed, the location will employ 100 people. Management will have open interview days onsite as they get closer to opening. Positions will be posted on the Ridley’s website.

“We are excited to have more options and competition,” Sorensen says. “Competition is really where the consumer wins.”

There’s also a possibility the city will get a Maverick convenience store. It’s still in the preliminary stages, according to Planning and Zoning Superintendent Jeff Nelson, so there hasn’t been a request for a building permit.

Additional projects

The addition of new businesses will not only bring new jobs to the area, but an increased demand for housing.

NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit neighborhood reinvestment corporation that creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, has already built four single family homes that are currently occupied.

Mark Dahlquist, Executive Director of the NeighborWorks office in Pocatello, says they started looking to expand into American Falls about three years ago. The plan is to build even more housing in the area, including 10 more single family homes slated for completion in March 2024.

“We have just started scratching the surface,” Dahlquist said. “We have more ahead of us.”

NeighborWorks homes in American Falls are stick-built homes with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. They don’t have attached garages, but they do have parking pads.

Each home is available for purchase by people who make less than 80% of the median income in the area. The homes sell for about $275,000, and special financing is available that keeps monthly payments low.

A rental housing townhome community from Falls Investments that’s nearing completion is Parkview Place on Hillcrest Avenue. The new subdivision consists of stick-built four-plexes with each housing unit having three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and a single car garage attached.

“For a while, there’s been a lack of real nice rental housing in American Falls,” says Gordy.

Two units are available for a September 1 move-in date, with a starting rent of $1,495 per month. There will be a total of 12 townhomes in the community, with plans to later build 12 more.

The old Gardener Hotel at 276 Roosevelt Street is also being renovated and remodeled into an apartment complex. Jonathan Brown, a managing member at BB&T Rental Properties, says the building was an empty shell and had been sitting vacant for about 15 years before they began work on it.

The remodel is about halfway done. There will be around 33 units in the building, most being studio apartments with one, two and three bedrooms. Rent will vary anywhere from $600 to $900 a month.

While change is difficult in small communities, Sorenson says the growth American Falls is experiencing is welcome.

“We need to grow,” Sorenson said. “It will all be better because of it.”