buildings quickly, and sell them,? Brown
says. ?At LocalConstruct, we project a
30-year hold on any building we buy or
build, and it?s rare that we ever sell. We
tell our design teams we want timeless
architecture, we want something that
uses natural materials that are native to
the area, and we want to build a building
that will stand the test of time.?
MIKEBROWNANDLOCALCONSTRUCT
BUILDAREPUTATIONFORQUALITY
Mike Brown is co-president of
LocalConstruct, a real estate
development company that gained
attention in Boise for its renovation of
the aging Owyhee Plaza Hotel. The
Owyhee, as it?s now known, is a modern
mixed-use building ? apartments plus
office, retail, meeting and banquet
spaces ? that retains the historic
architecture of the original structure. It?s
a great example of what LocalConstruct
wants to add to the Boise market: urban
housing options with high-quality finish
levels in the downtown core.
In 2011, Brown and Lynch visited Boise
and recognized that the downtown core
was ?on the cusp of becoming a 24-hour
urban place.? There were already great
shops and restaurants, a vibrant nightlife
and cultural scene ? downtown just
needed housing.
It was about that time that developer
Clay Carley approached LocalConstruct
about the heavy rehabilitation needed
for the Owyhee. Brown and Lynch were
intrigued by the challenge of turning an
old hotel into a modern apartment
building. They completed the project in
2014.
Their next project is The Fowler, a
159-unit mid-rise apartment building on
5th Street between Myrtle and Broad.
Close to grocery stores, restaurants and
Old Boise, it?s good multi-family ground.
It was also the original location of
several historic homes, so LocalConstruct