A Florida-based luxury home developer is also considering a building project east of the Flathead River in Columbia Falls.

Representatives from Location Ventures and Strategies 360, a Montana public relations firm, said they were considering a 100-plus unit multi-family development. But Location Ventures recently pulled its application as they wait to see what the city decides on the River Highlands Development.

The company didn’t reveal the exact location of its project, but it would presumably be north of U.S. 2. River Highlands, which has sparked intense community opposition, is a 455-unit development proposed for farmland on the south side U.S. 2, just to the east of River Road.

Melissa Shannon of Strategies 360 and Joanna Davila of Location Ventures, which specializes in high-end developments, met briefly with the Hungry Horse News last week to talk about its project.

“Location Ventures is a unique real estate platform that provides comprehensive investment, development, management, marketing and sales for residential and mixed-use properties. What does that mean? Simply put, we invest in one-of-a-kind living experiences that make the highest and best use of unique development locations. For some projects, that means investing capital, for others that means crafting a one-of-a-kind living experience from ideation to completion.

“Our portfolio contains a mix of ultra-luxury single-family homes, boutique condo developments, and a soon-to-be hip urban co-live and co-work space where young professionals live, work and engage in one environment,” the company says on its website.

It’s the sort of development, if it comes to fruition, that is unknown in Columbia Falls.

On the other hand, the city has certainly been discovered since the pandemic, as gentrification of the community has happened almost overnight. Homes that once sold for $250,000 or less now list for double and sometimes triple that today, though the market has cooled a bit as interest rates have gone up.

Still, a modest older home in Columbia Falls typically lists for $500,000 or more.