15 stories. A rooftop bar. This name-brand hotel is set to be built in downtown Boise

The developer of a Marriott hotel in downtown Boise has applied for a building permit so construction can begin.

Two Marriott brands, Element and AC, will split the rooms in the hotel, said Jared Smith, cofounder of Eagle-based Pennbridge Lodging, the developer. The hotel would be 15 stories tall and add 296 rooms within a mile of Boise’s convention center.

The site is 1011 W. Grove St., across the street from the J.R. Simplot Co.’s headquarters in a parking lot that used to be home to the Boise Farmers Market, according to previous Statesman reporting. The Owyhee Tavern and Mulligan’s Pub and Eatery are one block north.

The project arrives in a wave of hotel development downtown, including the Avery, which partially opened at the beginning of the month, and the Sparrow and Hotel Renegade, both under construction. The Avery, at 1010 W. Main St., is designed for 39 rooms. The Sparrow, a renovation of the former Safari Inn at 1070 W. Grove St., will have 67 rooms, and the Renegade, at 1110 W. Grove St., will have 122. Both are expected to open in spring 2024.

“It’s enjoyable to create something in your hometown of this size and caliber,” Smith said in a phone interview with the Idaho Statesman.

Pennbridge first bought the property in 2020, Smith said, but held off when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The company began to move ahead in 2022, when it started designing the hotel and asked city planners for a list of neighbors to invite to a presentation of the proposal. The Boise City Design Review Committee approved the final design on July 12, 2023.

The biggest change during the design phase was switching to a flat roof instead of a shed roof, which slopes down in one direction, Smith said. It fit Boise’s skyline better and will allow window washers to rappel down for cleaning — a task that would have been impossible with a shed roof, he said.

“Window washers would not have been happy with us,” he said.

The Boise Post, a restaurant and bar, will be nestled underneath that roof on the 15th floor, along with 3,000 square feet of banquet space. Smith said the restaurant will serve New American cuisine — a combination of local flavors with global influence — and offer sweeping views of downtown and the Boise Foothills.

The lobby 15 floors below will be shared with both Marriott brands. The AC brand is upscale with European flair, Smith said, and caters to short-term visitors. Element is designed for travelers on extended stays and includes amenities for long-term wellness, like a gym with expanded equipment.

Floors 2 through 4 will contain 260 parking spaces, floors 5 through 7 will be home to 121 Element rooms, and floors 8 through 14 will include 175 AC rooms.

Pennbridge hopes to start construction in September, Smith said. Okland Construction, of Salt Lake City, is the general contractor. It will take roughly two years to complete the building, he said.

There aren’t any anticipated road closures during construction, Smith said, but some individual lanes around the site could be temporarily closed to make room for concrete pouring.

Pennbridge doesn’t disclose estimated costs while the project is out for bids, he said.

Smith said he thinks the Marriott will provide rooms needed to support business tourism in the area, citing the growth in Boise’s downtown core and companies like Simplot and Micron.

“You can’t have that kind of growth without fulfilling the need for hotel rooms,” he said.

Carrie Westergard, executive director of Visit Boise, said in a call with the Statesman that she sees the hotel having a positive effect by supplying a place to stay for travelers at the same time as conventions and business trips have made a comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic. Ada County has a high demand for hotels, she said, with an average year-round occupancy rate of over 70%.

Element and AC, the hotel’s dual brands, are also a first for the area, Westergard said, which could open the door to people who haven’t considered staying before.

“That could attract a whole new client,” she said.

As planned, the hotel would bring the total number of hotel rooms within walking distance of Boise’s convention center to roughly 1,600, she said.

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