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Summarized by Kent Larsen
BYU-Idaho Announcement Leads to Rexburg Land Boom
(Ricks College plans inspire developers)
Spokane WA Spokesman-Review (AP) 28Jun00 D3
Associated Press
County and city offices flooded with inquiries
REXBURG, IDAHO -- The announcement that the renamed Ricks College
will be a four-year institution has touched off a scramble among
developers for land near the college. In the week since the
announcement, city and county offices have been flooded with calls
from Utah, Colorado and Idaho real estate developers trying to
provide housing for an expanding student body.
Rexburg City Clerk Marilyn Hansen reports that more than 30
developers have received copies of the city's zoning map and
information about the zoning rules. The City Assessor has also
received requests for information about who owns parcels of land.
"They want zoning maps," Hansen said. "Then they want to know who
owns the land, so I send them to the assessor's office."
Real Estate agent Sally Smith of Century 21 says that some of those
with property for sale in the area have already raised their asking
prices, following the news, "I haven't seen an immediate effect on
housing in Rexburg like this since the flood," said Smith, who has
been a real estate agent since 1979. "This is the best thing to
happen to the housing market here in a long time."
The developers are mostly interested in areas around the campus and
land that is zoned for high-density residential buildings. But, LDS
Church and school officials have not yet said how many more students
will attend the school as it becomes a four-year institution.
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