Groundbreaking set for Whitefish housing project

A groundbreaking ceremony for Alpenglow Apartments, a new 38-unit workforce housing development in Whitefish, is planned at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27 at the development site, 536 Edgewood Place.

The project is the first new development to move forward since passage of the Whitefish Strategic Housing Plan in late 2017. The Whitefish Housing Authority and its development partner, Homeword Inc. of Missoula, won tax credit funding for the project from the state of Montana last year, and hope to have the apartments ready for occupancy in late 2020.

Officials with the housing authority, city, Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, Homeword and the state will make brief remarks. Then they’ll break-out the “golden shovels” and get the project underway.

The public is invited to attend the ceremonies.

The affordable-housing project will receive $6.75 million in federal tax credits. 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.

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, according to an earlier article in the Daily Inter Lake.

The city authorized $150,000 toward the land purchase, and the housing authority committed up to $50,000.