AI Is Redrawing America’s Tech Map—and Boise Commercial Real Estate Should Pay Attention

Artificial intelligence isn’t just changing how companies work. It is beginning to change where companies hire, where employees live and where businesses need real estate.

That could eventually matter for Boise.

The biggest AI companies are still concentrated in major technology centers, particularly the San Francisco Bay Area. But hiring and office demand are beginning to spread as companies compete for specialized workers and businesses outside the traditional tech sector build their own AI teams.

According to reporting by Katie Burke of CoStar News, citing CBRE’s latest tech talent research, the number of AI-related workers across the United States and Canada has increased sharply during the past year.

You can read the original CoStar News article here: https://product.costar.com/home/news/2117142417

For Boise commercial real estate, the important question isn’t whether Idaho will suddenly replace Silicon Valley.

It won’t.

The more interesting question is whether the next wave of technology growth will be more geographically distributed than the last one.

If it is, markets such as Boise could have an opportunity.

AI Is Changing Where Companies Look for Talent

For decades, technology companies tended to cluster in a relatively small group of markets.

San Francisco and Silicon Valley dominated. Seattle, Austin, Boston and New York developed major technology ecosystems of their own.

AI hasn’t eliminated those clusters.

In many ways, it has strengthened them.

But the talent race is beginning to push companies beyond the traditional hubs.

CBRE’s research, as reported by CoStar, found that AI-related employment across the U.S. and Canada grew by roughly 45% during the past year, adding more than 751,000 workers.

Overall technology employment also increased despite highly publicized layoffs at several major companies.

That’s important.

The technology workforce isn’t simply shrinking because automation is replacing certain jobs.

It’s being reorganized.

Some positions are disappearing while entirely new categories of work are being created around AI development, implementation, infrastructure and operations.

And those workers don’t all need to be located in Silicon Valley.

Companies increasingly have two reasons to expand into new markets.

The first is access to specialized technology talent.

The second is the adoption of AI by industries that aren’t traditionally considered technology companies.

Banks, healthcare companies, manufacturers, logistics firms, retailers and professional services companies are all experimenting with AI.

That broadens the potential geography of technology employment.

Office Real Estate Could Be One of the Biggest Winners

The office market has spent the past several years dealing with one major question:

How much office space do companies actually need?

Remote work, hybrid schedules and corporate downsizing dramatically changed office demand following the pandemic.

AI companies are introducing a different dynamic.

Many fast-growing AI businesses appear to place significant value on employees working together in person.

That is already showing up in leasing activity.

According to the CoStar report, technology companies have again become one of the country’s strongest sources of office leasing demand. AI-related companies represented more than 20% of U.S. office leasing volume during the first half of the year.

That’s up substantially from their share only a few years ago.

The concentration is even more dramatic in the San Francisco Bay Area, where AI companies reportedly generated nearly 60% of office leasing activity so far this year.

That doesn’t mean office buildings everywhere are suddenly going to fill up.

But it does show that growing companies will still lease physical space when collaboration, recruiting and company culture make the office valuable.

That’s an important distinction for Boise office real estate.

The future probably isn’t “office versus remote.”

It’s increasingly about which companies need offices, what kind of space they want and where they want it.

Why Boise Could Fit Into a More Distributed Tech Economy

Boise doesn’t need to become one of America’s largest AI hubs for this trend to matter locally.

Even capturing a small amount of technology expansion can affect a market Boise’s size.

The Treasure Valley already has several characteristics that could help it compete for technology-related employment over time: a growing population, Boise State University, an established semiconductor presence, a relatively business-friendly environment and proximity to major Western markets.

Companies looking outside the most expensive coastal technology centers may evaluate cities where they can recruit employees while controlling real estate and operating costs.

That’s where Boise could become interesting.

A company doesn’t need thousands of employees here to influence Boise commercial real estate.

A regional office with 50, 100 or 200 highly paid employees can support demand for office space, housing, restaurants, retail and professional services.

Multiply that across several employers and the impact becomes meaningful.

The opportunity could be particularly important for Downtown Boise, the Boise State University area and employment corridors with strong access to housing and amenities.

The Office Buildings That Win May Look Different

Even if technology leasing expands, landlords shouldn’t assume every office building will benefit equally.

Growing technology companies often want something different from traditional corporate office tenants.

They may prioritize collaborative layouts, high-speed connectivity, flexible floor plans, modern HVAC systems, natural light, amenities and locations employees actually want to visit.

That creates a widening gap between buildings that simply offer office space and buildings that help companies recruit workers.

For Boise landlords, this is worth paying attention to.

Older office properties may need upgrades to compete.

That doesn’t necessarily mean expensive ground-up redevelopment.

Sometimes relatively targeted improvements—better common areas, updated finishes, outdoor gathering spaces, improved technology infrastructure or more flexible suites—can reposition a property.

The goal is to make the office feel like an advantage to the employer rather than an obligation for employees.

AI Growth Could Affect More Than Office Space

The commercial real estate impact could extend far beyond office leasing.

High-paying technology jobs create households with purchasing power.

Those households need places to live.

They spend money at restaurants.

They join gyms.

They use medical services.

They shop locally.

They create demand for childcare and education.

That means technology employment can indirectly support retail leasing in Boise, multifamily development and neighborhood commercial growth.

There is also an industrial component.

Artificial intelligence requires enormous computing capacity, which creates demand for data centers, electrical infrastructure and sophisticated technology facilities.

Idaho’s ability to support future power-intensive development could therefore become increasingly important to commercial and industrial real estate decisions.

AI is ultimately not just a software story.

It is an infrastructure story.

And infrastructure always has a real estate component.

Local Insight: Boise Doesn’t Need to Win the AI Race

From a Boise commercial real estate perspective, I wouldn’t focus on whether Boise becomes the next San Francisco, Seattle or Austin.

That’s the wrong benchmark.

The real opportunity is whether Boise can capture incremental growth as technology employment becomes more distributed.

Smaller technology offices, engineering teams, regional operations and companies built around AI-enabled services could all create demand without transforming Boise into a traditional technology hub.

The bigger lesson from CBRE’s research is that talent increasingly influences where companies expand.

Real estate follows people.

If Boise continues attracting educated workers while developing its university, semiconductor, technology and entrepreneurial ecosystems, employers have another reason to consider the Treasure Valley.

For developers and landlords, that means watching employment trends just as closely as vacancy rates.

A new employer announcing 150 jobs may not sound like a commercial real estate story.

But those workers need offices, apartments, restaurants, healthcare, services and entertainment.

That is how employment growth moves through a real estate market.

What Boise Investors and Landlords Should Watch

The next several years could tell us whether AI creates another major geographic reshuffling of America’s technology economy.

Boise investors should watch where companies are opening new offices, where universities are expanding technology programs, where venture capital is moving and which Western cities are gaining high-paying technology jobs.

Office landlords should also watch the types of spaces growing companies are actually leasing.

The opportunity may not be evenly distributed.

Newer buildings, flexible spaces and locations close to restaurants, housing and amenities could outperform commodity office properties.

Developers should pay attention as well.

If technology hiring becomes more geographically dispersed, cities capable of offering talent, quality of life, reasonable operating costs and the right commercial space could benefit.

Boise doesn’t need a massive AI headquarters announcement for this trend to matter.

A steady stream of smaller expansions could ultimately have a larger and more sustainable impact on the Treasure Valley.

Artificial intelligence may be rewriting the technology employment map.

The commercial real estate map could eventually follow.

Mike Gioioso (joy-OH-so) has for 16+ years been helping companies of all sizes buy, build, and lease perfect places for business in greater Boise, Idaho and beyond.
www.streetsmartidaho.com mike@streetsmartidaho.com 208-209-9166

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