A pair of former lawmakers are pitching twin residential developments north of Kalispell with an eye toward addressing the Flathead Valley’s well-documented housing crunch. 

Known as Tronstad Meadows and Whitetail Crossing, the proposed neighborhoods near the intersection of U.S. 93 and Tronstad Road are expected to see about 380 single-family homes go up on roughly 110 acres of land. Though home prices in the valley have exploded in recent years, former state Rep. Frank Garner said he and former state Sen. Jon Sonju hope to offer a portion of the houses at the area’s median home price and below. 

“We’re at kind of an unfortunate intersection for those of us like me who grew up in the valley and are wanting to try and maintain the life and values that we’ve enjoyed for so long and the need to help provide the opportunity for the next generation to enjoy that same privilege,” said Garner, who is acting as the ownership group’s spokesperson. “Many people close to me have grown up here, worked here and can’t afford a house here.”

The median sale price of a single-family home has spiked in Flathead County, going from $255,000 in 2015 to $634,900 in the third quarter of 2023, according to data compiled by the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors. Townhouses rose from $168,000 to 4530,000 in that same period while condominiums shot up to $595,000 from $216,000 in 2015. 

Manufactured homes also rose during that stretch, from $148,000 to $300,000.

Garner said the project will address the housing crunch on two fronts, adding hundreds of new homes to the valley and offering a mix of differently-priced options. 

“Our plan is to have below median, median-priced and above median-priced housing because that’s what the market requires,” he said. “The only way I know of to impact a housing shortage is to build houses.”

Although he could not offer specifics when it came to potential home prices, Garner said that the developers behind the project have formed an advisory group featuring people in the trades, health care, public safety and education to determine what future residents in those fields could afford. 

“We don’t have a magic wand,” Garner said. “The cost of development is still going to be the cost of development, but we think we can find some ways — with the help and feedback of this group — to make a substantial offering.”

Though the future neighborhoods are located in the county, Garner anticipated seeking annexation into Kalispell. As planned, the homes will eventually hook into city water and sewer, he said. 

The two developments will roll out in four phases in the coming years and likely will require the construction of a traffic light at the intersection of Tronstad and U.S. 93. Right now, the development group is undertaking engineering work, coordinating with City Hall and the state Department of Transportation, and discussing options with area builders, Garner said. 

Work on the developments began about six months ago, he said. 

“I tried my hand on the policy side and … I really felt like if I was going to have impact it was going to be working with the people running the shovels and swinging the hammers that are actually building houses,” Garner said. “I got involved in this project because I saw an opportunity to try to have an impact on it in a way that I thought would be meaningful.”

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.