Construction Update | May 2026 (Vol. 1) | Arête Journal
Drone, site overview, April 22, 2026
Arête  /  Journal  /  Construction Update · May 2026
Construction Update · Vol. 1 · 6 min read

Construction update: May 2026.

Published May 27, 2026· The Arête Team· Vol. 1 of a monthly series

This is the first in a monthly construction update from the team building Arête Residences in Southwest Meridian. Every month, until we open in 2027, we'll publish a real, honest look at where the project stands, what's built, what's next, what we learned. Subscribe and you'll get it in your inbox.

Why this series exists.

Renderings are nice. They show what the building will be. They don't show what it actually is, week by week, as a real construction site in real Idaho weather. The plan for this monthly column is simple: a regular drone session of the site, a short note from the team on what changed, the milestones we hit and the ones we missed, and a look at what's coming next. No marketing-speak, the way the team actually talks about the project.

If you're on the interest list, this will land in your inbox on the last Friday of each month. If you're not, you can subscribe at the bottom of this page.

Where we are, right now.

Phase 1 of Arête Residences, 152 homes across three building types — is in active development at 249 S Ten Mile Road in Meridian, Idaho, with first move-ins targeted for summer 2027. We're roughly thirteen months from opening day.

The architectural plans for the three-story townhomes (Trilevel A, B, and C) were revised this month with the final exterior elevations and material legend, the warm-beige stucco with vertical terracotta accent panels and stone-veneer base you see in the renderings. The apartment Flats buildings (F1, F2, F3) and the central Clubhouse are working from plans dated 2024. The construction budget was refreshed earlier this month. The 4.26.2024 master site plan remains the working layout, with a few small commercial-pad adjustments since then.

152
Phase 1 homes
~516
Total at full buildout
36
Acres (Discovery Meridian)
~13
Months to opening
Aerial view of foundations being poured at the Arête site, framing wrapped in green, equipment on site — April 22, 2026
Foundations going in · April 22, 2026

What the drone caught.

The April 22 flight covered the full 36-acre Discovery Meridian master plan, not just the Arête residential parcels. The hero shot at the top shows the scope, the bare graded dirt of the central development, freeway access along I-84 in the foreground, and the Boise foothills on the horizon. The foundations shot above it shows the active heart of the site: forms and rebar grids being staged for pours, framing wrapped in green going up on a smaller building, and heavy equipment everywhere you look.

Below, a closer view from elsewhere on the parcel. The Arête residential pads are still in earthwork at this point in the build, so the building rising in the background isn't Arête itself; it's one of the other buildings going up on the broader Discovery Meridian parcel. The neighborhood is coming together piece by piece. And that's part of the story.

Aerial view of a building going vertical at Discovery Meridian, with workers in orange vests on a survey-marked pad in the foreground and an excavator working — April 22, 2026
A neighbor on the parcel going vertical · April 22, 2026

What's coming next.

The next thirty days for the project are about continuing site work, vertical prep, and a handful of permitting milestones. We'll capture the June drone session in the same week as the last one. So each month's shot stacks cleanly against the one before it. Over twelve months you'll have a real time-lapse of the build.

Two things worth flagging on the broader timeline:

  • Across the interchange, the District at Ten Mile, the 222-acre mixed-use destination opening alongside us — is moving toward its first retail-pad deliveries this year and into 2027. The neighborhood is rising on both sides of Ten Mile Road at the same time.
  • Inside our own master plan, Discovery Meridian's on-site retail roster continues to fill out, with additional pads on the way to join the existing grocery, coffee, dining, and services.
"Every month, what was a rendering gets one step closer to a place where someone hands you a key."

The monthly framework.

Each update from here forward will cover the same five things. So it's easy to skim and easy to compare month over month.

What each monthly update will include:

i.

The drone session

A fresh aerial shot from a consistent angle. So over time, the series becomes a time-lapse.

ii.
What changed

A short, plain-language note on what actually got built or finished since last month.

iii.
Milestones, hit & missed

Honest. If we slipped, we'll say so. Building construction is rarely on a clean line.

iv.
What's coming

The next thirty days, what's in motion, what's on the schedule, what to look for in the photos next month.

v.
A note from the team

Something we learned, a vendor we want to thank, a decision we changed, a story from the site.

vi.
Detail photos & a video

Ground-level shots of whatever's most photogenic this month. A short drone fly-through when there's something worth flying.

Why you should subscribe.

The single most useful thing about following the construction series is the time-lapse effect. One drone shot is a postcard. Twelve of them, from the same angle, is the story of a community being built. By the time we open in 2027, anyone who's been on this list since the start will feel like they watched it go up, because they did.

It's also the same list that gets first look at the floor plans, the pricing, the model unit, and founding-resident incentives when leasing opens in January 2027.

Inside Arête

Want a preview while you wait?

The marketing site is live, the apartments, the townhomes, the amenity package, the neighborhood, all built around what we're showing you here.

— The Arête Team · Southwest Meridian · May 27, 2026 · Next update: late June 2026

Get the next update in your inbox.

One short construction update a month, until we open. Same list that gets first look at floor plans and founding-resident pricing.