There’s just something about a downtown culture that can’t be replicated. You can’t plug in a formula and mass produce Boise’s downtown scene anywhere else across the country. This is what makes doing business in a downtown setting so unique and rewarding. A majority of our retailers are local, and a majority of our patrons are loyal to local. This is special and worth protecting while we foster productive growth in our city. We are naturally experiencing a nice balance of local, regional, and national retailers in the downtown core and that’s not by accident. It takes a lot of people – city employees, local building owners, and out of state investors – caring about this city to make it what it is now and keeping it on the trajectory it is headed.
The hospitality industry, with large pent up demand through the recession, is now experiencing much-needed growth. We have three new hotels open, one under construction, and at least one more planned in downtown Boise. A couple of years back, one of my clients, an out-of-state investor who owns property downtown, was in town but was unable to find any lodging downtown and had to stay at the airport. While not a major issue, it's nice that our downtown can now host many more visitors. The expanded capacity, coupled with a new convention center that can hold up to 1,500 participants, creates huge spending potential previously unheard of. Each of these is significant contributors to the success of downtown retailers.
I've assembled some additional resource material that discuss Downtown Boise and in particular, the hospitality industry, for those who are interested in exploring this topic in more depth.
If you'd like to discuss Downtown Boise's retail opportunities, feel free to connect with me via phone (208) 947-0814 or email.