Judge approves settlement in University Place case
From The Olympian:
A judge on Wednesday approved a settlement between the fundraising arm of the University of Idaho and a development company formerly hired to build a
$136 million campus extension in the state capital.
Fifth District Judge Daniel Hurlbutt Jr. approved the agreement in Ada County in the University of Idaho Foundation's five-year-old case against Civic Partners West over the failed University Place development in Boise.
"There are no bad guys in this," Hurlbutt said. "Certainly this was never anticipated by either party."
The ruling marks an end to legal action stemming from the University Place saga, which began with plans for a three-building complex conceived in 1999 as a way to bolster the school's stature in the capital and keep pace with ascendant Boise State University. The project later hit financial snags and cost one of the school's presidents his job.
Eventually, only the $50 million Idaho Water Center advanced to the construction phase.
The settlement "is the culmination of the entire litigation over the University Place project," said Dennis Faucher, a Philadelphia attorney on the foundation's board of directors.
Under the terms of the settlement, both sides will agree to drop claims against one another for damages, and the foundation will transfer its lease of a small parcel of property in front of the water center to Civic Partners, Faucher said.