Boise Facade Review Moves to Public Hearing

Commercial landlords with older downtown buildings should expect public hearings when exterior changes could alter historic character.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Openings & Closings

Boise Facade Review Moves to Public Hearing

Live Poll

Should older downtown buildings be modernized even if they lose historic character?

ALC Architecture has submitted plans to the City of Boise for exterior changes to the former Rite Aid building on State Street, which the city has elevated to a public hearing. The developer is revising its plans and has asked to push the design review to December 9, so the project's timeline for downtown Boise businesses is now later than first scheduled.

Why it matters

The proposed facade work aims to modernize the building and make room for multiple tenants, which bears on how retail space in this part of downtown Boise gets leased and used. The city elevated the application because the changes could alter the building's historic character, a question that can shape what landlords and tenants are allowed to do with mid-century commercial properties.

The application covers a building constructed in the 1960s that has been surveyed as contributing to a potential historic district, and the review hearing has been moved from its original date to December 9. Public testimony opens November 18 at 6 p.m. at Boise City Hall, but the revised plans and the commission's eventual decision remain unresolved.

The players

ALC Architecture

An architecture firm that submitted the exterior design plans for the former Rite Aid building on State Street.

City of Boise

The municipal government that reviews exterior changes to downtown commercial buildings and elevated this application to a public hearing.

Boise Design Review Commission

The city body that reviews proposed exterior changes to buildings and will take public testimony on this project.

The details

The proposed exterior plan includes three shades of gray stucco, horizontal siding, and black storefronts, which the application describes as a way to modernize the facade. Because the building has a mid-century design with a curved roofline, glass, wood, and river rock, the city elevated the application to a public hearing so neighbors can weigh in on whether the changes alter its historic character. The space was previously a Safeway, then a Rite Aid, and is temporarily occupied by a Spirit Halloween.

1960s: The building was constructed with its mid-century design.
November 6, 2026: The article on the proposed building changes was published.
November 18, 2026: Neighbors can testify before the Design Review Commission at 6 p.m.
December 9, 2026: The rescheduled design review hearing is set.

Market Landscape

The application shows how Boise's design review process can slow exterior renovations of older commercial buildings when the changes could alter historic character. The developer's request to push the hearing to December 9 extends that timeline for a project that is meant to create space for multiple tenants.

Commercial landlords and tenants considering older downtown buildings should expect that exterior changes may go to a public hearing when they could alter historic character, which can add months to the timeline. Property owners and retail tenants planning leases in the area should factor the December 9 review date into their schedules and consult qualified counsel or a real estate professional on any approval requirements.

The takeaway

Commercial property operators in downtown Boise should track the December 9 design review date and the Design Review Commission's decision, since that outcome will indicate how the city treats exterior changes to mid-century buildings. Operators planning similar facade projects can use this review as a signal to build the public-hearing step into their timelines.

What happens next

Neighbors can testify before the Design Review Commission on November 18 at Boise City Hall, 150 N. Capitol Blvd., 3rd floor, starting at 6 p.m. The rescheduled design review hearing is set for December 9.