Twin Falls is setting its sights on the next chapter of downtown development, with the city’s Urban Renewal Agency formally opening a process to attract private investment to the Hansen Street corridor — an area stretching from City Park all the way to Rock Creek Canyon.
The agency has issued two separate requests for proposals targeting a pair of city-owned parcels along Hansen Street South, both of which currently sit as underused parking lots. The move represents a deliberate push to extend the momentum built along Main Avenue into an adjacent stretch of downtown that planners believe holds significant untapped potential.
Building on Downtown’s Early Wins
The effort is rooted in a Downtown Master Plan the city adopted roughly two years ago, which laid out a strategy for bringing more residential units, retail options, and entertainment venues into the urban core. That plan has already yielded tangible results along Main Avenue, where the Main Avenue Lofts project delivered 44 housing units and three retail shops when it opened in 2023.
Urban Renewal Agency Executive Director Shawn Barigar acknowledged that the agency’s early energy was concentrated on that stretch of downtown. “We really made a focus on Main Avenue,” he said. Now, with that work showing results, attention is turning toward Hansen Street.
“Hansen Street really becomes sort of that corridor that runs from City Park to Rock Creek Canyon, and how do we look at ways to get that same kind of private investment happening there,” Barigar said at a public meeting.
The two parcels going out for bid are distinct in both size and intended use. The first is a just-over-one-acre lot at the intersection of Hansen and 2nd South, situated adjacent to the Main Street Lofts development. That site is designated for mixed-use development combining housing and retail — a configuration similar to what already proved successful nearby.
Two Parcels, Two Development Visions
The second parcel is considerably larger at 2.36 acres, located near 3rd and Hansen. City planners have identified this site as a candidate for lodging, entertainment, and hospitality uses — a designation that reflects a broader goal of giving residents and visitors more reasons to spend time downtown.
Together, the two sites could meaningfully reshape a corridor that, while centrally located, has remained largely dormant compared to the activity generated along Main Avenue. The Hansen Street stretch connecting City Park to Rock Creek Canyon represents one of the more visible underdeveloped areas in the downtown footprint, and its transformation has been a recurring theme in planning conversations in recent years.
Downtown Twin Falls has increasingly been the subject of ambitious redevelopment conversations. A Denver-based firm recently pitched a whitewater park concept at the Snake River Canyon site, signaling that outside investors are paying attention to what Twin Falls has to offer in and around its urban core. That kind of outside interest adds context to the URA’s move to put these Hansen Street parcels on the market.
Developers interested in either parcel have until August 28 to submit proposals. Once that deadline passes, the Urban Renewal Agency plans to evaluate the submissions during the fall, with the goal of identifying partners capable of executing projects aligned with the Downtown Master Plan’s vision.
What Comes Next
The August 28 deadline gives prospective developers roughly ten weeks to put together competitive proposals for one or both of the Hansen Street parcels. After submissions close, URA staff and board members will review the proposals and move toward selecting development partners during the fall evaluation period. If the timeline tracks closely with how the Main Avenue Lofts process unfolded, the agency could be moving toward formal agreements with selected developers before the end of the year. Community members interested in how downtown Twin Falls continues to grow can track updates through the Urban Renewal Agency and Twin Falls city government channels. For broader coverage of development and community projects across the Magic Valley and the rest of Idaho, visit Idaho News.