City gives snow lot to housing authority for affordable housing project
HEIDI DESCH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 1 month AGO
The city's snow lot at the corner of Railway Street and Columbia Avenue. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
DEPUTY EDITOR, FEATURES Heidi Desch is the Deputy Editor at the Daily Inter Lake, overseeing coverage of arts, culture, lifestyle, community, and business. Desch leads reporters in developing stories that highlight the people, traditions, and events shaping Northwest Montana, guiding content across print and digital platforms. With more than 20 years of journalism experience, including serving as managing editor of the Whitefish Pilot, Desch is a graduate of the University of Montana School of Journalism. She has received multiple Montana Newspaper Association awards, including part of the team leading the Daily Inter Lake to Best Daily Newspaper in Montana Award and the General Excellence Award in 2024 and 2025. IMPACT: Heidi’s work connects readers with stories that deepen the understanding of the community beyond daily news. | June 10, 2020 1:00 AM
Ownership of the city’s snow lot is being passed to the Whitefish Housing Authority to allow for the development of an affordable workforce housing project.
City Council last week voted to transfer ownership to the housing authority and to help assist in funding the future project by providing $459,5000 in tax increment finance funds and $509,000 in fees-in-lieu of affordable housing paid by past developers who chose to pay cash instead of creating affordable housing.
“I’m glad we’re moving forward with this project,” Councilor Andy Feury said. “We’ve been considering this for a long time.”
Councilor Ben Davis, who previously served as chair of the Whitefish Housing Authority Board, also praised the project. “We look forward to seeing this project become a reality,” he said.
The city’s downtown master plan designates the 1.64 acre property at the corner of Railway Street and Columbia Avenue, as suitable for a housing project. The 2017 Whitefish Strategic Housing Plan recommended the city work with a partner to develop the lot for affordable workforce housing.
The city previously retained Homeword, a Missoula-based nonprofit that focuses on affordable housing projects, to draft a conceptual design and financial feasibility analysis for the lot.
The analysis of the project in February found that roughly 24 homes constructed on the lot would make the project financially feasible. Homeword created a conceptual plan for the property that calls a total of 24 single-family homes constructed in duplex-style buildings on the property.
A cost estimate showed that at just under $6.5 million for the entire project and an estimate of about $5.6 million in revenue from eventual home sales, the project would be viable.
The city’s contact with the housing authority, as approved by Council, says that if for some reason the lot is not used to provide permanently affordable housing, the lot would then revert back to city ownership.
The snow lot currently houses a central recycling site and the city is looking at options for relocating the recycling.
ARTICLES BY HEIDI DESCH
Whitefish City Council set to approve draft budget
Whitefish City Council on Monday is poised to approve a $63.4 million preliminary budget for fiscal year 2027.
Whitefish considers annexation for land on south entrance
Whitefish City Council on Monday will decide whether to annex about 18 acres of land on the south entrance of the city.
Senior Spotlight: Glacier High School student looks to use science to help others
Knowing she wanted to help others, there was a time when Anitha Ravipati considered pursuing a career as a medical doctor. But applying her science acumen during an internship last summer opened the possibility of assisting through research.