Demetre’s Public Persona Versus Reality
By Elton LK
Demetre Booker, Jr., managing partner of Elevate Commercial, repeatedly says he operates a “socially responsible” real estate firm that wants to build community. Elevate’s website says “We believe in ‘Doing Well, By Doing Good.’” But the Eagle mobile park residents of the recently acquired Riviera Estates say they “organized Idaho’s first fighting tenants’ union, Riviera Estates Tenants’ Union, in direct response to unimaginable rent hikes, harassment of our community members, the loss of services like power and water (without any compensation), the destruction of our neighborhood and the constant threat of unfair fines and evictions.”
While Demetre emphasizes his focus on social responsibility, he does not hide his success as a real estate speculator. Elevate Commercial’s website celebrates Demetre’s rapidly accumulating holdings.
Assets Under Management: $180,765,000
Real Estate Managed: 2,928 Housing Units
Equity Raised: $68,338,000
A YouTube video from @OfficialJScottScheel in 2022 shows Demetre saying the total value of those deals was $217,000,000. The biggest check he had cashed off of one deal was $2,225,000. Despite the evidence of Demetre’s ruthless approach to housing management, he has been the guest on a number of real estate investment podcasts to talk about his experience making money while being socially responsible.
He claims that creating a “culture” and “community” helps residents grow. He uses these terms as euphemisms for gentrification: displacing existing residents and replacing them with more wealthy renters. This follows the business model Elevate Commercial deployed when they converted the Sunliner Motel on Chinden in Garden City in 2023, converting it to a boutique hotel like the Modern in downtown Boise. It is now called The Arcadia Motel. The difference is that Riviera Estates is a mobile home park with long-term residents, some of whom are living on fixed incomes.
Central to Demetre’s “social responsibility” is mentoring the residents to become financially literate. He teaches them the value of having a bank account, building credit, and eventually buying their own real estate investments. He says he helps them understand how equity is built. He claims to have been the first to introduce tools like Esusu and Circa in the mobile home industry. These tools allow residents to build credit through on-time rent payments, as if they are credit card payments. He and Gretchen also mention a program that gives residents loans at 0% interest for 3 months if they get behind on the rent. He repeats these talking points in podcasts and YouTube interviews, yet he has never shared a single success story of any of his mentees.
Contrary to Demetre’s claim that he seeks a win-win for both his investors and his residents, he refuses to work with the Riviera Estates Tenants’ Union. Though he explicitly claims he does not raise the rent when he purchases a new mobile home park, that is exactly what he did when he purchased Riviera Estates. He raised the rent more than 40% with only 30 days notice. Many residents wanted to leave, but raising the rent meant the value of their mobile homes went down, effectively trapping them in their place with rent many were unable to afford.
The residents describe being "unable to relax in their own homes" after a “campaign of three day eviction notices” for undocumented rules. Their children are terrified of losing their homes. One family said after rent increases they have spent their savings and can no longer afford therapy for their son’s special needs.
Residents have a long list of grievances. Excessive and arbitrary fines. Ignored maintenance requests. Maintenance to infrastructure without warning. Harm to water quality without notice. Name-calling in texts.
Despite what Demetre says, his actions show that he cares more about profits and his public image than the welfare of his residents. In August of 2025 the Idaho Statesman published an article on his treatment of the residents of Riviera Estates. Demetre did not handle it well. The Idaho Statesman said, “Booker threatened the Statesman multiple times with lawsuits while reporting this story.”
The residents of the Riviera Estates do not want Demetre’s “social responsibility.” They want what they have consistently demanded for months - that Demetre commit in writing to sell them the park at a fair price, or agrees to meet with them at the bargaining table to discuss their demands.