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
worked with Preservation Idaho to have
those homes relocated.
Brown started his career in Colorado but
met his business partner, Casey Lynch,
when the two studied together at UCLA's
Anderson School of Management. In
2009, during the economic downturn
that left the real estate market
decimated, they raised the capital to buy
and then renovate houses and small
apartment buildings around Los Angeles.
LocalConstruct is also trying to show that
quality housing does not need to be
expensive. They?re currently proposing a
low-rise, three-story walkup apartment
building at 14th and Idaho. The
development would include cafe space, a
pocket park, and live/ work units on the
ground floor. The design would be less
expensive to build than a property like
The Fowler, which is important to those
who would make do with living on the
edge of the downtown walkability zone
in exchange for lower rent. Mike Brown
and LocalConstruct see a bright future
for Boise with the addition of downtown
housing options ? not only for those
who live downtown, but for the entire
Treasure Valley. ?If developers and the
city can deliver enough high-quality
apartment units, appropriately priced
with a range of options, then downtown
will become its own node,? Brown says.
?What?s underestimated is what happens
to the overall feeling of a downtown
once there?s a base of 24-hour residents.
That supports retail, restaurants, and
nightlife in a way that a daytime
downtown never can. Those things
support not only the people who live
downtown, but those who want to own a
big house in Eagle but also want to come
downtown for that big city experience
once in awhile.?
For more information about Mike Brown or
LocalConstruct, visit www.LocalContruct.com
Brown envisions The Fowler to be the
type of quality urban housing that will
appeal to both younger tenants getting
established in their careers and older
tenants whose children are grown and
are willing to trade a big yard for
walkable access to downtown amenities.
The design calls for retail space on the
ground floor, a parking structure,
live/ work units (artist lofts), a
landscaped courtyard, fire pits, a
community center, and apartments with
a high-quality finish level. The building?s
brick facade has a curve to it, giving the
impression of a wave ? a stylized touch
that lends a unique profile to what could
have been, in the hands of a different
developer, a sterile box.
?We?ve been plagued throughout the
western U.S. with developers whose
business model is to build cheap
buildings quickly, and sell them,? Brown
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