Six-story office building planned

Boise developer RS Hosac Inc. has purchased a half-acre parcel at the northwest corner of 11th and Main streets in downtown Boise and plans to construct a six-story, 75,000-square-foot Class A office building to be called Royal Plaza.
Nate Hosac, leasing director at RS Hosac, said the company purchased the property from the Owyhee Plaza Hotel in January. The hotel, across Main Street, acquired the parcel in 1994 and has been using it as a parking lot.
Construction of the building is likely to begin within three to four months with occupancy expected to begin in the spring of 2002, Hosac said. Anticipated construction costs and potential tenants were not divulged.
“We saw an opportunity at this corner of 11th and Main and think it’s a great location,” he said. “We noticed that the vacancy rates in Class A office space in the downtown core are pretty low. There is a real demand for Class A product.”
The downtown Class A vacancy rate was 4.8 percent as of fourth quarter 2000, according to Knipe Janoush Knipe’s Commercial Market Report for winter/spring.
The 11th and Main parcel formerly was the site of the Royal Restaurant, a popular dining spot that started as a bar in 1947, evolving into a restaurant that operated for more than 30 years until its closure in 1982. The Royal was one of three buildings at the corner. All eventually were demolished.
Larry May, managing partner of Owyhee Limited Partnership, which has owned the Owyhee Plaza since 1992, said the loss of the 48-space parking lot will be compensated by a new 450-space, three-story hotel parking garage planned on an existing surface parking lot adjacent to the hotel at 12th and Grove streets.
Construction of the parking garage is expected to begin early next year and be completed by the summer of 2002.
Construction costs are estimated at $7,000 to $12,000 per space, May said, with RS Hosac funding a portion of the project and taking 150 spaces in the garage.
“The hotel is doing very well,” May said. “We feel we have a need for some additional guest and tenant parking. There are times when everything is full.”
Nate Hosac’s father, Bob Hosac, has worked on development projects in the Boise area for about 15 years. RS Hosac focuses primarily on commercial office projects, such as the Emerald Tech Center being built at Emerald Street and Five Mile Road.