COEUR d'ALENE — For some, seeing is believing.

With large donations to the Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance's "Miracle on Britton" project, it won't be long before people will be able to see the miracle at work.

Two top names in real estate — Windermere Coeur d'Alene Realty owner/broker Don "Pepper" Smock and designated broker Pat Krug — gave a combined $35,000 of their personal funds to support the future Post Falls neighborhood when they met Wednesday morning with PAHA Executive Director Maggie Lyons.

"The $10,000 that Pat’s giving and this $25,000 is personal investment,” Smock said. “Our company is Windermere; we think that’s relevant because we’re in the real estate business — giving back, investing in our community, investing in our workforce."

The gifts from Smock and Krug will help advance work on the Miracle on Britton project, which will someday soon provide affordable home ownership for 28 middle-income, working households that otherwise may not be able to own homes in Kootenai County.

“I think it is so important that we provide as much housing as we can for our workforce, the people who are really supporting all the businesses, the health community,” Krug said. "I’m just so grateful that Maggie stepped in with PAHA to create these opportunities.” 

Miracle on Britton’s main purpose is to showcase how, with municipal support, the private market can build and preserve homes at prices that will be within reach of local workers through shared equity homes.

The fundraising goal is $1.6 million to dedicate most of Britton’s 28 homes for households annually earning $75,000-$90,000, which accounts for approximately 80% of local middle-income working households. A benefit held May 14 raised $500,000, which will allow the project to break ground this fall by pivoting to build more 100-120% area median-income households and fewer at 80%.

"There will be no federal funding for Britton," Lyons said. "It will be entirely driven by local, private generosity."

Smock and Krug are among a growing number of supporters who have contributed to make the Britton dream a reality.

Penn and Nancy Siegel, longtime residents of Hayden Lake, gave $21,000 through a stock donation. They sent personal letters with materials about Britton to dozens of friends, many of whom are retired business owners.

"People are responding favorably to the Siegels' letters and the Britton materials because they recognize this is more than a donation of money — it is an investment in this community to ensure our local workers can thrive in the community where they work," Lyons said.

Penn Siegel said he and his wife support Britton because they understand the value in keeping employees in their local communities.

"We're in much better shape than places like Sun Valley," he said. "We should have done this years ago, but we didn't.

"I look at what’s happened here since COVID when a whole lot of people moved here and prices went through the roof," he said. "It’s going to be really hard."

He said Britton is necessary to provide a tangible example for how this unique approach to affordable housing could work, in this community and others.

"They really need to get a demonstration project," Siegel said. "It’s easily scalable. It can be scaled up in a variety of communities. Shared equity is a brilliant concept." 

The July 15 first application deadline for potential Britton residents was announced June 28, a Friday.

“By Monday, there were 115-plus emails that kept pouring in," Lyons said. “By the following week, we had over 50 completed applications."

One email read: "I am a 26-year-old Coeur d'Alene native and I love my home so much I would rather live in my parents' basement than move away to another city. My boyfriend was also born and raised here and feels the same way … When we talk about our future and housing situation we usually get discouraged, but this opportunity brings hope! Thank you to everyone for working so hard to keep our Coeur d'Alene natives here."

Lyons said Britton will produce an incredible return on investment for Kootenai County.

"Thanks to visionaries like Pat and Pepper, Penn and Nancy, we remain hopeful our community will help Britton reach the finish line," she said. "We are off to a great start, but we still have more ground to cover."

Visit pahaid.org for Miracle on Britton details.

    An example of a Canyon-style home that will be among the 28 houses built in the Miracle on Britton neighborhood in Post Falls that will be affordable for local working families. Donations are coming in to help meet the $1.6 million fundraising goal for the project.