Housing complex to get major upgrade

Community Action Partnership will receive $4.5 million in federal housing tax credits for a major renovation of its Courtyard Apartments on Airport Road in Kalispell.

The Kalispell housing project was one of five selected statewide to receive $27.6 million in tax credits, the Montana Board of Housing said Monday.

The Courtyard Apartments project will renovate 32 apartments by installing new windows, staircases, energy-efficient appliances and roofing. The total project investment of $4.9 million for Courtyard Apartments will result in 58 jobs earning $2.4 million in wages.

The apartments were built in 1995 as a partnership between the city of Kalispell and the nonprofit Community Action Partnership. It serves a mix of residents who meet the low-income threshold.

The upgrades also will include the addition of a community room and laundry facility, plus space for maintenance offices, according to Marney McCleary, housing director for Community Action Partnership.

“This means the world to our community” McCleary said. “We will be able to improve the Courtyard Apartments, and we will be able to sustain this property and keep it financially and physically viable for years to come.”

State housing finance agencies like the Montana Board of Housing award federal housing credits to developers who turn the credits into construction funds by selling them to investors. These credits allow developers to borrow less money and pass the savings along to qualified tenants through lower rents.

Creekside Commons, a proposed senior apartment complex in Kalispell, was a finalist for this round of tax credits but did not receive the award. Other housing projects to receive tax credits are in Billings, Butte, Lewistown and Livingston.

Housing tax credits are the primary funding source for affordable housing development across the United States. The Montana Board of Housing can fund the construction or rehabilitation of approximately 200 rental units each year. This creates more than 485 jobs, more than $20.6 million in local wages, and more than $2 million in new taxes and revenues for local governments, according to the Board of Housing.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.