Whitefish housing project gets tax-credit support
An affordable-housing project planned on Edgewood Drive in Whitefish will receive $6.75 million in federal tax credits, Gov. Steve Bullock announced Tuesday.
Developer Homeword Inc. and the Whitefish Housing Authority, along with the city of Whitefish, have been working together on the construction project that will provide 38 dwelling units for families in three buildings behind Piggyback BBQ, on the north side of the railroad viaduct in Whitefish.
The total project investment of $8.7 million will result in 117 Montana jobs earning $5.2 million in wages and salaries supported by construction activity, according to the Governor’s Office.
The Montana Board of Housing reviewed 17 affordable-housing applications from communities throughout Montana and whittled the list to five recipients that will share $30.6 million in federal tax credits for affordable housing. Federal housing credits allow developers to borrow less money for construction and pass those savings along to families and individuals through lower rent. The tax credits fund the construction or rehabilitation of approximately 220 rental homes each year in Montana.
In Northwest Montana, Meadowlark Vista in Ronan was the other tax-credit recipient; that project will receive $4.2 million for construction of 24 units. Other tax-credit recipients were for projects in Billings, Havre and Helena.
“It was a nail-biter,” Whitefish Housing Authority Executive Director Lori Collins said about Monday’s Montana Board of Housing public meeting during which the board voted on the final allocations. “Every one of the 17 original applicants was worthy. Everybody should have gotten the tax credits.”
The selection was a point-and-score system, “open to the public so everybody sees exactly what they’re doing,” Collins said.
Whitefish City Council member Katie Williams called the board during Monday’s meeting to reiterate the city’s support.
“One of the board members said they just saw the collaboration between the city and housing authority,” Collins added.
Philanthropists Alan and Lisa Stinson, who live part time in Whitefish, also played an integral role in creating a successful project for Whitefish, selling the 2.1-acre tract off Edgewood Drive to the housing authority at a substantial discount, Collins said. The city authorized $150,000 toward the land purchase, and the housing authority committed up to $50,000.
“We’re extremely excited,” Collins said. “Everyone has worked hard to make it happen.”
Jackola Engineering will be the architect for the project, and preliminary plans were submitted to Whitefish’s Architectural Review Committee on Tuesday. Collins said the goal is to complete the project by 2020.
Plans call for three separate buildings, with townhome-style apartments in two- and three-story buildings. Parking, a playground and open space are part of the project. Zoning for the site has been approved, and a traffic study has been completed, Collins said. Still to come is a planned-unit development proposal for the property.
News Editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.