Emmett Is Waking Up: Walmart, Albertsons and the Pad Rush on Highway 16

Walmart bought nearly 20 acres on Highway 16 in Emmett, and that single land deal tells you more about where Treasure Valley retail is heading than any market report this year. When a national anchor plants a flag, the pads around it fill fast, and Emmett is already seeing it.

For most of the valley, Emmett has been the town you drive through on the way to Sweet or the Payette. It has a Bi-Mart, an Albertsons, a Grocery Outlet and a lot of loyal local shops. That's about to change.

Two grocery anchors, one stretch of Highway 16

Walmart is building Emmett's first supercenter, with a fuel station, on the Highway 16 and 12th Street corridor, just down the road from the existing Albertsons at 640 Highway 16. Today the closest Walmart is in north Meridian off Ten Mile. That's a long round trip Gem County shoppers will stop making.

The store anchors Longhorn Station, a pad development by Rocky Mountain Companies at the main entrance to town. Walmart's arrival kicks off phase two: a new road, Foxfire Rd., running from Highway 16 toward 12th Street, plus a new signal at Highway 16 and Foxfire.

The Albertsons angle. Albertsons has had Emmett's full-service grocery business for years. Now it gets a national discounter down the street. In my experience, that usually helps the corridor more than it hurts the grocer: two anchors pull traffic from a wider trade area, and every pad between them gets more valuable.

The pad rush is already on

Longhorn Station has 12 lots from about half an acre to two acres, offered as ground lease or build-to-suit. Phase 1 (lots 1 to 7) is delivered and ready for development, and phase 2 (lots 8 to 12) comes with the new signal, targeted for Q4 2027. Here's what's landed or lined up along Highway 16:

• Walmart supercenter + fuel: the anchor at Longhorn Station
• Washington Trust Bank: committed to a pad on the Highway 16 frontage
• Oil and lube, car wash and coffee: letters of intent on three more Longhorn Station pads
• 8,600 SF multi-tenant building near Albertsons: built in 2025 with an end-cap drive-thru, available for lease
• Grocery Outlet and a Valor Health clinic: open at Highway 16 and Substation Rd.
• Dutch Bros: open in front of Bi-Mart since 2024

The tenant mix is the tell: bank, car wash, coffee, quick lube. Those operators chase rooftops and daily trips. They don't sign until the anchor is real, and now it is.

Why now: rooftops and a faster road

Emmett grew from 7,647 residents in 2020 to an estimated 8,900 in 2025, about 16% in five years (Census QuickFacts). Retailers follow that curve, usually a few years late.

The road matters too. ITD's State Highway 16 extension, a limited-access highway from SH-44 down to I-84, is on track to open in 2027 (ITD). That shortens the commute from Emmett to the Meridian and Nampa job centers and keeps more Gem County spending at home.

What it means if you own, invest or operate

• Landowners near Highway 16 and 12th St.: Get your land entitled and ready now. Service tenants want shovel-ready pads with signalized access.
• Investors: Watch for single-tenant net-lease deals on the new pads. Expect them to trade at tighter cap rates than most small-town retail once the anchor is open.
• Existing centers: Older Highway 16 strips should see more trips. It's a good moment to re-tenant vacancies or push rents at renewal.
• Local operators: Lease costs on Highway 16 will climb. Lock in terms before the traffic shows up.

What to watch in 2027

2027 is the year Emmett's retail map gets redrawn: the SH-16 extension opens, Longhorn Station's phase 2 delivers, and we'll find out which brands sign the remaining pads.

Rocky Mountain Companies is developing Longhorn Station, and KZB is tracking every pad on Highway 16. If you're a tenant looking for a development-ready pad in Emmett, or a developer looking at Gem County, contact me today at blake@kzbrealestate.com. I'll walk you through what's available and what it takes to get a deal done.

Photos and site plan courtesy of Rocky Mountain Companies.

This post first appeared in Commercial Real Estate Boise, a KZB newsletter on Treasure Valley commercial real estate.