BOISE, Idaho — This is the first in a series on some of the hot spots for business, commerce, and industry growth in our area. We start in one of, if not the, fastest-growing cities in Southern Idaho: Star. People have just been pouring into the former farm town, but adding businesses is a tougher task.
What used to be a farm town nestled along the Boise River between Eagle and Middleton is booming.
Star Mayor Trevor Chadwick says, "I grew up here. I've seen it."
The population was a little more than 11,000 in the 2020 census. Mayor Chadwick says that could be more than 19,000 by the end of next year, nearly doubling in just a few years.
New businesses are coming in too.
"We got all these different little places that are popping up," Chadwick said while showing off a map with the growing commercial districts.
While business growth is at a much slower clip than new homes, it is happening. Chadwick points to the new manufacturing facility from cabinet-builder Greyloch, corporate offices for businesses like the Wright Brothers, and a lot of future shops and restaurants, like right in front of Ridley's. He also says 20 other new businesses are approved and just waiting to be built. This didn't just happen. It's intentional, all part of the effort to help Star grow out of being just a bedroom community (somewhere a lot of people live, but work and play elsewhere).
Chadwick admits, "We did have that identity of being that bedroom community for a long time. And we've been working hard over the last eight years, on getting businesses to come in."
In bedroom communities, not only do folks have to drive out of town for everything, but they also have to shoulder the property tax burden for the needed roads, schools, and water infrastructure. The mayor says these new businesses have helped to reduce that tax burden on residents from 94% to 88% in just the past year. "We're trying to help alleviate some of the property tax burden on the residential side. Because being a bedroom community is pretty much all relying on the residents to pay the property taxes for all the 12 taxing districts."
But it's not just about getting a bunch of new business. The mayor adds, "We have citizens that are worried about not getting enough small mom and pop shops. Well, the deal is you have to have some of these bigger businesses that will provide the tenant space to allow these small mom and pop shops to be able to operate. Because most of these folks don't have the capital to spend a million and a half dollars in today's world to build a building. But they can utilize that facility that's already built and pay a lease on it."
And as Star city leaders look to the future to manage the tidal wave of new people and businesses, balance seems to be the key, working to balance local and chains, industrial and service, big and small. All in hopes of sustaining through the ups and downs of various industries in the economy.
"You can't be reliant on one or heavy on one,” says Chadwick. “You just got to be able to balance that out a little bit. And providing that opportunity for those businesses and that commerce coming into Star is the key to being successful."
Some of you might be saying, 'balance? Doesn't Star have like a billion pizza joints?' That's apparently the stereotype. But no. The mayor pulled the numbers and they have five pizza places for their almost 20,00 people, which is right on the state average.
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