The apartment complex at Aurora and North 109th Street in Seattle was built on the cheap.

That’s because Daniel Stoner, the developer, outsourced the building to Boise, Idaho, where labor and material costs are cheaper.

“This entire building was built in Boise,” he said, gesturing to the large block building on one of Seattle’s most infamous highways.

Seattle has boomed in recent years, but Aurora Avenue North has remained stagnant. That's why city planners hope to build many new apartments buildings here.

The problem: It’s expensive to build in Seattle, and developers can’t charge high rents on Aurora. So they have to find clever ways to keep their costs down.