Prospective developers pitched a major sustainable housing project idea for the Pablo area to the Montana Board of Housing in Helena on Nov. 9 and are awaiting word on whether they will receive $2 million in federal funding to move forward.

If the project is approved, 24 three-bedroom housing units could be ready as early as 2017. The project is one of several vying for a total of $27 million in funding, according to Montana Board of Housing Executive Director Bruce Brensdal.

“It’s going to be a really big, hard decision for the board to make,” Brensdal said. “We have 20 projects that presented to us, and I would say every single one of those projects had a lot of merit and is very much needed in their community.”

Grant awards will be announced Jan. 19.

The grant would be a monumental step in moving forward the Pablo project under the direction of Marion-based nonprofit AlohaNoblehouse Inc, according to executive director Kay Midro.

“If we don’t get the money, it would be another year before we can do it again,” Midro said.

The nonprofit originally hoped to create a sustainable living development on McGregor Lake, but when a land purchase fell through, a parcel in the heart of Pablo was identified as a more suitable candidate, partially because it qualifies for federal housing subsidy tax credits, Midro said. The tax credits are sold to help lower the cost of the project.

The project includes a low-income housing development of three-bedroom, 1,200-square-foot units that utilize high levels of insulation and solar power to drive living costs down.

“Also included in the design is a solarium so that they can grow a portion of their own food,” project finance consultant Gerry Fritts said. “We will be teaching them how to do that. They should be able to do that all year round.”

Developers plan to landscape the housing development with fruit trees to create more food on the property and work with the commercial kitchen at the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center in Ronan to help teach canning to residents.

The housing units are part of a larger vision for the property that includes installation of a geothermal and solar heated greenhouse that will produce more than 500 tons of vegetables each year, year-round. The six-acre commercial project would bring an estimated 35 jobs to the town.

“We’re hoping to sell those because they will be very fresh to a combination of restaurants, hospitals, and wholesalers of grocery projects, like Sysco and URM,” Fritts said. “We will also have a retail outlet there and we hope to be able to deliver a significant amount of fresh vegetables and herbs to the local community at a very reduced price. We want to make sure that the community has the opportunity, no matter what they can afford, to purchase vegetables and herbs right there picked the day before.”

The aquaponic and vertical gardening system is projected to produce more than 10 tons of fish annually.

The commercial leg of the project is also pursuing tax credits from the Montana Community Development Corporation, Fritts said. A feasibility study is currently underway and a pitch meeting will hopefully happen in the next few weeks.

Eventually, Midro also would like to include an electric-vehicle charging station and education center on the property. She said if the idea is successful, she would like to see similar developments in the future. The project has been a dream for more than two decades.

“We want this to be a catalyst project and carry it across the United States,” Midro said. “Our goal is to incorporate fresh local food that doesn’t have to be shipped in from all over the place. If you are able to grow food year round indoors, without the weather issues, that’s a big benefit.”

The project has received the endorsement of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the Lake County commissioners.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.