Skyline-Defining High-Rise Potentially Coming to Boise

A rendering making the rounds in Boise depicts a 40-story apartment building that would be taller than all other buildings in one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

2 minute read

March 20, 2023, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


A view of the Boise skyline, across tress int he foreground. The state capitol is visible amongst other office buildings.

Charles Knowles / Shutterstock

Details are emerging on a Washington State-based developer’s plans for a large parking lot in Downtown Boise—and it looks like the proposal could yield Boise’s tallest building yet.

According to an article by Don Day for Boise Dev, Front Street Holdings of Redmond, WA purchased half of a surface parking lot along Front St. between 10th St. and 11th St. in 2022, but plans for the parking lot so far haven’t been released. An architectural rendering posted recently, however, reveals a 40-story apartment building.

“The preliminary rendering shows what appears to be a large parking garage on the lower floors, with a tall, slender apartment building rising up, parallel to 11th St. Several rooftop areas are featured as the building steps back and reaches higher,” reports Day.

As noted by Day, the other half of the parking lot is planned for a hotel development.

The news comes with a critical caveat, writes Day: “The renderings in the portfolio aren’t official, and no application has been filed on the site with the City of Boise. The designs could be speculative in nature and may not represent what, if anything, moves forward on the site.”

Boise is experiencing quick growth and demographic change, making the potential for a new high-rise believable. The development proposal is just one of the large-scale multi-family residential developments planned for the city and region, so if the Front Street development isn’t destined to redefine height on the Boise skyline, another project likely will soon.

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