John Brunelle

John Brunelle has spent nearly two decades shaping the skyline, streetscapes and public spaces that define downtown Boise. This fall, he plans to step back and enjoy what grew.
Brunelle, executive director of the Capital City Development Corp., has led the quasi-governmental urban renewal agency for 13 years − part of a combined 18-year tenure with CCDC and the city of Boise. Under his watch, three of the agency’s urban renewal districts − the Central District, the River Myrtle-Old Boise District and the Westside District − reached successful completion and closure, a milestone that signals responsible use of public resources and a long-term vision delivered.
This year, the Idaho Business Review recognized Brunelle with an ICON Award for his role in transforming the city’s core.
The honor arrives at a moment of transition. Brunelle, a Boise native and Bishop Kelly High School graduate who later attended Pacific University, has announced he will retire from CCDC this fall. He describes what comes next with characteristic directness: Volunteering, advising and paying it forward at a leisurely pace.
“I am most excited that everything is about to change for me,” he said. “Knowing that a new and different type of service work is in my near future brings fresh energy, clear eyes and a full heart.”
Brunelle’s path to urban development was anything but linear. Before arriving at CCDC, he worked in financial services, educational publishing and professional sports, with career stops in Portland, Seattle and Boise. Each detour, he says, added something. He credits his willingness to change course − to trust his instincts when a role or path no longer fit − as one of his most important professional qualities.
That adaptability shaped how he approached the work at CCDC, where he describes his role as being “a connector between policy, capital and community.” His focus has been on infrastructure-first development and building frameworks durable enough to outlast any single project or political cycle. The results are visible throughout downtown: Renovated public spaces, new housing, revitalized neighborhoods and private investment drawn in by the groundwork CCDC laid.
The team Brunelle built to do that work may be his most lasting institutional contribution. Recruiting and retaining people who see public service as a meaningful professional calling, he says, is among the accomplishments he is most proud of.
“I am inspired by the energy and intelligence of my fellow employees as they stack successes day after day,” he said. “It’s fulfilling to watch them challenge the status quo and collaborate with like-minded people to make Boise the best it can possibly be.”
His mentors range from Bill Drake, founder of what is now Drake Cooper, to the late urban theorist Jane Jacobs, whose ideas about cities as living, human-scaled ecosystems have long influenced planners and developers. Brunelle’s work reflects those influences − an attention not just to what gets built, but to how it serves the people who live and work nearby.
For younger professionals, Brunelle offers advice that is deliberately countercultural in an era dominated by automation: Prioritize emotional intelligence over artificial intelligence. AI is powerful, he says, and worth understanding. But EI − the capacity for self-awareness, empathy and ethical judgment − is what leadership actually requires.
“Prioritize EI over AI,” he said. “EI is essential for leadership, relationships and ethical decision-making.”
When the work is set aside this fall, Brunelle will turn his attention to what he says is his true legacy: His family. He and his wife, JoJo, whom he met at Pacific University, live in the Depot Bench neighborhood with their children Jeff and Cassie and four grandchildren nearby.
He has guided a city’s transformation. He plans to celebrate by playing football in the backyard with his grandchildren.