It’s shaping up to be quite a busy summer for the Flathead Valley’s construction industry, with residential projects scattered throughout the county.

“We’re building everywhere — Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Kalispell, all directions,” said Tom Bowen of Bighorn Development and Homebuilder. “We even have a couple [houses] going into Somers.”

Bighorn has 52 homes in various stages of construction underway right now, well over last year’s building pace, Bowen said, when his company built 70 homes.

He said much of his work used to center around the Kalispell area, but as existing lots are built out, it’s sending builders into other areas.

“Kalispell lots have become scarce,” Bowen said. “There are not a lot of affordable lots.”

Lone Pine Estates “is basically full,” Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz said.

Trumbull Creek Crossing in Evergreen likewise is close to full build-out, with just two lots left.

“We’re running out of affordable platted lots with the housing market and subdivision [development] picking up,” Jentz said.

The developers of the Bloomstone subdivision near Kidsports have dusted off their plans and are proposing a multifamily apartment complex and some townhomes this year, Jentz said.

Bloomstone was approved for 569 housing units in 2008, but was mothballed for years during the recession.

“Now they’re focusing on the west side up against the bypass with 96 apartment units” in 12 buildings, Jentz said. “We’ve seen the preliminary designs and there have also been early discussions about the townhouse part of phase one.”

Bloomstone may build as many as 25 townhomes.

The preliminary plat for Bloomstone was extended and is valid until April 2015. The original site plan was to be built in five phases with a variety of housing types.

Jentz noted brisk construction activity in subdivisions such as Spring Creek Estates and in Silverbrook Estates.

Many Flathead building contractors have noticed a sizable uptick in construction. This spring Merna Terry, vice president of Ron Terry construction said “we’re as busy as when it was really busy” before the recession.

In Whitefish, building activity is outpacing last year. Through June 17, 34 building permits for single-family homes had been issued. That compares to 51 permits issued for homes in all of 2013.

“Whitefish continues to be a popular place to build,” Whitefish Planning Director David Taylor said.

Last year 75 new homes were started within Whitefish city limits, he said. Total new housing units were up 33 percent from 2012.

Community Infill Partners recently won approval for its Second Street Residences, which will feature 54 single-family and eight townhouse lots. The housing won’t be as affordable as the initial plan of 174 housing units, with a large percentage of the units as apartments.

Lot prices have been increasing in Whitefish, Bowen noted, making it more difficult to build entry-level homes. While Bowen builds homes from the affordable price range up to $5.5 million, he said he has been steering away from high-end homes over the past several years because they’re time-consuming and “I just don’t like to deal with them any more.”

The majority of Bighorn’s homes are in the $200,000 to $300,000 range, with some as low as $190,000.

Columbia Falls, long a haven for affordable housing, also has seen construction activity pick up.

“In March alone we had [building permits] for six single-family residences,” Columbia Falls City Manager Susan Nicosia said. “For 2014, from January to now, we’ve had 15 single-family residences (two of which are townhomes) for a value of $1.8 million. We’ve had three commercial permits for $2.3 million.”

That compares to eight building permits for homes in Columbia Falls during 2013.

Nicosia said much of the residential growth has been centered in neighborhoods off Talbot Road on the city’s south side, such as the Wildcat Drive and Hidden Cedar Loop areas and the Riverbend, Cedar Point and Talbot Pines developments.

Thirty Three Properties LLC plans to develop a 30-lot subdivision near Meadow Lake Golf Course, which is the second phase of Tamarack Heights. The city of Columbia Falls approved the preliminary plat last October.

Nicosia said inquiries have increased, sometimes with new owners coming in for projects that have been dormant. The Red Bridge area, where high-end condominiums were once proposed before the recession, is being eyed once again.

“People are looking at that area and saying, ‘What could we do there?’” she said.

Flathead County Planning Director BJ Grieve said his office also is fielding calls from people “kicking the tires.”

“Generally I can tell you our phone is ringing off the hook with development-related inquiries and folks calling to run ideas by us and ask how those ideas fall into the various regulations we administer,” Grieve said.

“Most stop short of actually pulling the trigger and making an application, and all the subdivision preliminary plats currently entitled still aren’t banging down the door to go to final plat.”

As of Jan. 1, there were 1,228 preliminarily approved lots available in Flathead County.

“We’ve had a few preliminary plat applications over the last few years, but no big spikes that indicate a trend; sort of a trickle,” Grieve said.

He also has observed builders absorbing the inventory of existing lots, “but there is a ton of inventory to get absorbed still,” he said.

Among the larger major subdivisions with active preliminary plats within county planning jurisdiction are Haskell’s Pass and Haskill Mountain Ranch west of Kalispell, Whitefish Hills near Whitefish, and Rosewater and Cottonwood Estates north of Kalispell.

In the Lakeside area, Lakeside Estates, Spurwing Creekside, Eagle Crest Heights and North Shore Ranch still have viable preliminary plats.

Saddlehorn II near Bigfork is among the major subdivisions with plat approval, as is Swan Peak Homestead.

Grieve pointed out that lakeshore permit applications have soared — up 24 percent over same time period last year.

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