Garden City's Past Growth and Future Vision

Last week we were lucky enough to attend a meetup with Boise Regional Realtors. In attendance were Garden City Mayor, John Evans, and Director of Development Services, Jenah Thornborrow. The two shared their insights into how Garden City has changed, and how they predict the city will continue to grow and flourish.

On a high-level, we were fascinated to learn that Garden City, which runs just over four-square miles and encompasses six miles of river, is home to 12,000 residents and OVER 2,000 businesses!That business to resident ratio of 1:6 is truly something!

The river runs right through the small city as do three major highways. It's location alone is truly something worth noting.

The Mayor and Thornborrow discussed several new residential developments; a new STEM-based charter school, partnerships between Garden City and the City of Boise for the whitewater park and the 36th Street bridge, and the possible future of the fairgrounds.

The mayor is also very pleased with the success they’ve seen in creating affordable housing by partnering with NeighborWorks Boise on several projects.

As an abundance of new businesses have opened up around the town, residents and business owners are increasingly striving to create a "sense of place" by adding creative murals and art to otherwise blank buildings.



We were also very interested to hear about many businesses that are ingeniously reusing and renovating pre-existing spaces.



The artistic community in the Surel Mitchell Live-Work-Create District, between 32nd and 37th streets on the north side of Chinden Blvd, is absolutely thriving. The booming district encompasses the greenbelt, wineries, breweries, the Boise River, the Visual Arts Collective, and various other art studios and galleries.





While Garden City hasn't historically been known for upscale homes, that has changed. Garden City now encompasses far more million+ dollar homes than one would likely guess. The average listing cost of home in Garden City (as of April 2018) is $364,900.



To learn more about how Garden City is evolving, please check out the following resources:

• Slidesfrom the Boise Regional Realtor Meeting
• Garden City Artisan Wayfinding Signs and Maps
• River Front District Projects