03/07/2022
By WHITNEY ENGLAND
Whitefish Pilot | March 2, 2022 1:00 AM
As of last week, the Whitefish Housing Authority has secured full funding for an affordable housing project that is planned for a 1.64-acre property on the corner of Railway Street and Columbia Avenue, also referred to as the snow lot.
The housing authority in a Whitefish City Council meeting last week presented an update on the funding and timeline for the project that will construct 22 affordable townhouse units in Whitefish. The housing authority is looking at a potential timeline now that would complete the project in the fall of 2024.
According to the housing authority, Flathead Electric has already completed some initial site work and hopes to bring power to the property this summer. The housing authority will submit subdivision and PUD applications in May and the required planning board and city council meetings should wrap up in October. They are hopeful the infrastructure build would begin in March of 2023, depending on weather conditions and water levels after the snow melts, and are looking at a 16-month build.
The housing authority already entered into a construction contract with Montana Construction Company and a contract with an architect and engineering company, Encompass Design, for the snow lot housing project.
The Whitefish Housing Authority says it is working with a budget of $8.7 million for this project. Full funding for the project was secured through various funding sources from the City of Whitefish as well as the donation of the snow lot property by the city.
“The city donated the land to us, which is huge,” WHA board member Addie Brown told council. “That’s going to make a big difference for this project.”
The other funding sources included the City’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF), American Rescue Plan Act funding and “payment in lieu of” funding from the Legacy Homes Program which previously required developers to either build a portion of affordable housing or instead pay a fee.
Home sale prices for the affordable housing units will be set for households making between 80% and 120% of AMI and the organization says at current construction estimates the houses will likely stay below $300,000.
The location, which has also been termed the snow lot because it has previously been used by the city to store plowed snow in the winter, was donated to the Whitefish Housing Authority in June 2020. The city, in addition to piling extra snow there, also was using the lot for the city’s centralized recycling site until the end of January 2021.
After the land was donated to the Whitefish Housing Authority, the organization agreed to allow the city to continue operating the recycling site on the snow lot until May 2022. After that point, the housing authority had planned to begin some site work for the affordable housing project, and the recycling site would need to be removed.
In addition to updates on the snow lot project, Whitefish Housing Authority also announced that it is moving forward with its nonprofit called Housing Whitefish. Having a 501c3 nonprofit directly tied to the housing authority allows them to accept donations directly.
While creating Housing Whitefish, a complete brand design was completed by FVCC and it is also forming its own board and executive director. Three members of the Whitefish Housing Authority have already been added to the new Housing Whitefish board and they have received 10 letters of interest from members of the public for the remaining four seats.
The housing authority also received a $75,000 grant from Explore Whitefish to hire a grant writer that will work to secure funding for more affordable housing projects in the future.
As of last week, the Whitefish Housing Authority has secured full funding for an affordable housing project that is planned for a 1.64-acre property on the corner of Railway Street and Columbia Avenue, also referred to as the snow lot.
