New coffee stand may be coming to UI campus

MOSCOW — Red Star Coffee Company will be a step closer to building a new coffee stand on the University of Idaho campus depending on an Idaho State Board of Education vote today.

During the consent agenda portion of the ISBOE meeting, the board will vote on a site lease agreement that would allow a Red Star drive-through in a UI parking lot located at the corner of Third and Line streets.

If the development is approved by the City of Moscow, Red Star will work with UI staff on final construction and size development plans.

The 10-year ground lease allows the Board of Regents to retain permanent ownership of the land. However, the university will pay for installation and tenant use of sanitary and stormwater connections at the estimated cost of $250,000.

The rent schedule for the lease amounts to a $42,000 per year payment for the first five years, and a $48,300 per year payment for the next five years.

The UI says this will eventually reimburse the initial utility installation and use costs and, if continued for the full term of the lease, will provide additional payment for land rent.

“This agreement also creates a new income stream that diversifies sources of revenue for UI and sustainably utilizes an existing parking lot for a higher, better use,” a UI staff report says.

The site is currently a 39-space parking lot that generates approximately $13,000 per year in revenue, but also costs money to maintain and operate, the staff report says.

Red Star Coffee Company currently operates a coffee stand on Pullman Road in Moscow.

The ISBOE meeting begins 9 a.m. today at Lewis-Clark State College.