Did you know Boise has downtown penthouses? Yep. And one is available for $4M. Take a look

It’s no secret that Boise is a changing city. Over the past 15 years, the city has gained 45,000 new residents and the downtown core has shifted dramatically from a bevy of vacant dirt lots to a collection of shiny towers and sleek developments.

The downtown area, which once had businesses turning tail, has experienced a resurgence. This is all the more apparent when it comes to the core’s increasing luxury offerings and something long-timers might not realize even exists in town: penthouses.

And one of the city’s few — and largest — penthouses could be yours for a whopping $4 million after the local owners of one such home put their condo up for sale at the Aspen Lofts apartments.

Punch in a secret, constantly changing elevator code and you’re whizzed up silently to the 17th floor at 851 W. Front St. with views overlooking the Boise Centre and Front Street.

Virtually eye level with the top of the Wells Fargo building, the penthouse feels like a glass cocoon — comfortable and elevated, secure and serene, floating over the heart of downtown Boise. Despite the location, it’s startlingly quiet in the home.

Brett Hughes, founder of Boise Premier Real Estate and the broker managing the sale, said he’d never seen anything like it before.

“I was blown away,” Hughes said. “I was shocked that a place like this existed in Boise.”

Walking past the heavy wood front door, guests are faced with a hallway that curves into the most impressive feature in the home: two-story, floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the Wells Fargo Bank tower and the Eighth and Main, or Zions Bank, building.

The spacious main area fits two dinner tables, one of the home’s five bedrooms and one of its four bathrooms, a kitchen with quartz counters and access to the first of two decks.

“There’s just so much to do and so much space to entertain,” Hughes said.

The 4,256-square-foot condo sits 200 feet above the traffic on Front Street and includes bedrooms with walk-in closets, a wet bar, two fireplaces and an additional upstairs entertaining area.

The views from the main deck, and its hot tub, would be hard to beat with Table Rock to the southeast and the Capitol peeking over the roof of the Clearwater building.

It would be easy to spend the day on the second balcony, too, Hughes said.

That balcony, in the back of the penthouse, looks over JUMP, down 8th Street and Capitol Boulevard to the Boise Depot, and over BoDo and the main alley that leads into the Knitting Factory and the Double Tap pub. Guests can see Albertsons Stadium from both sides.

“There’s really no major landmarks in Boise that you can’t see from this spot,” Hughes said.

The owners live locally but used it as a second home to be closer to downtown and for visiting friends and family, Hughes said. But, as their kids have gotten older, the bunk beds and home haven’t been used as much.

Hughes listed the property at $3,950,000, which would bring monthly mortgage payments to about $24,816, according to Zillow estimates.

Most of those who have viewed the home are from out of state, have children and want to have a footprint in Boise, Hughes said. Most are looking at the penthouse as a second home.

Changing city, changing real estate

This isn’t terribly unusual these days as the Treasure Valley’s luxury market has continued to expand with interest from out-of-state buyers pushing prices higher.

“Boise has seen dramatic growth in that luxury price range,” Hughes said. “People are surprised (at) what kind of price points we’re seeing here.”

In some parts of the Treasure Valley, such as in Eagle and Star, some luxury homes have broken the $6 million mark.

“We just don’t have that much luxury, historically, to match that demand,” Hughes said. “So what we do have is being pushed up.”

As wealthier residents continue to move into the Boise area, though, more properties like the Aspen Lofts penthouse could come online, Hughes said.

The Arthur — the 26-story, $140 million glass tower from Boise’s Oppenheimer Development Corp. going up downtown — is just one example. The project plans to bring space for ground-floor retail and nearly 300 apartments, including penthouses on the 24th floor.

The 25th and 26th floors are expected to include a fitness center, pool, hot tub, yoga space, hammocks, golf simulator, shared kitchen and banquet space, according to prior Idaho Statesman reporting.

The landscape is a far cry from when the Aspen Lofts were built in 2009, when the JUMP complex didn’t exist. The Eighth and Main building was a gaping pit known locally as “The Hole,” where teenagers used to sneak in to smoke and drink beer.

The penthouse, Hughes said, would be the perfect place to watch from as the city grows and evolves.

“There’s not very many spots like this in Boise,” Hughes said.