Apartments planned on old Whitefish hospital site
A plan to redevelop the former North Valley Hospital site in Whitefish with seven apartment buildings containing a total of 234 apartments has been filed with the Whitefish Planning Office.
The public will get its first crack at the proposal at a Nov. 15 public hearing before the Whitefish Planning Board.
The application lists Mike Goguen as the owner of the site at 6575 U.S. 93 S. and William A. MacDonald as the applicant. Riverbank Properties LLC is the development entity asking for a planned-unit development land-use permit to build the apartment buildings — each containing 32 to 34 units — on 11.8 acres.
The project, Riverbank Residences, calls for 90 studio apartments, 90 one-bedroom units and 54 two-bedroom units. Riverbank Properties would use the planned-unit development provisions of the city zoning code to facilitate the land use and density, according to the application.
The site is located near the intersection of U.S. 93 and 13th Street, across from Safeway. The nearly 100,000-square-foot vacant hospital building was demolished close to three years ago and has been vacant green space since then.
About 3.75 acres, or 31 percent of the property is proposed as common area open space. Amenities would include a paved trail along the nearby Whitefish River, as well as some more primitive walking paths along the river.
Because the project “is part of a redevelopment venture that replaces what was an old single-purpose structure that had lived beyond its useful prime with a multifamily housing development aimed” at a workforce demographic, the developer is asking the city for an unspecified amount of tax-increment finance district money to help pay for some of the infrastructure construction of a proposed Columbia Avenue extension on the north side of the site.
The former hospital site is zoned general business, so the project would need planned-unit development approval to move forward with a residential use in a commercial zone.
Riverbank Properties proposes to provide deed-restricted affordable housing for 20 percent, or 47 of the 235 units. These apartments would target people with incomes of 60 to 100 percent of the adjusted median income for Whitefish, and would be income-restricted and managed in partnership with the Whitefish Housing Authority, according to the application.
While the character of the neighborhood is largely highway commercial development, Riverbank Properties maintains its planned multifamily project is a compatible land use for the area, and would provide future residents with easy walking or biking access to nearby grocery, medical and pharmacy services.
The proposed development also provides a key transportation link between Columbia Avenue and the eventual connection with Whitefish Avenue to the south, the application states. “This north-south route has been anticipated in the Whitefish Transportation Plan for decades,” it notes.
A second road connection is the east-west movement through the site and the alignment with 15th Street. Both Columbia Avenue and 15th Street would be constructed to city standards, however, the right-of-way widths were expanded from the typical 60 feet to 75 feet on Columbia and 70 feet on 15th Street. The additional width allows the developer to [provide] sidewalks and a 10-foot shared-use path, landscape boulevards, street trees and street lights on Columbia and develop on-street parking on both sides of Columbia and 15th, according to the application.
The Whitefish Planning Board meets at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at Whitefish City Hall.
News Editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.