Columbia Falls developer Mick Ruis’s Teakettle Heights project on former Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. lands is going before the Columbia Falls Planning commission at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

The subdivision was supposed to go before the commission on April 13, but the city postponed it, as city planner Eric Mulcahy was unable to attend.

The subdivision is one of the largest the city has reviewed in years. If approved, the city would annex the property, which is currently in the county and partially unzoned.

The planned unit development calls for a total of 421 units on 78.05 acres south of Aluminum Drive. 

Ruis purchased most of the property about a year ago. About 1,850 acres of the site, which is about 2,400 acres total, will host his personal ranch, he told the Hungry Horse News recently.

Teakettle Heights will be located on the south side of Aluminum Drive. It includes 125 single-family residences on detached lots, 56 single-family townhouse sublots and 240 multi-family apartment units. 

The apartments, which would be the closest buildings to the road, are proposed at 45 feet. All other buildings will be less than 35 feet. There are also several open space areas  

The legal address of the development is 1800 Aluminum Drive. It will have two access points, one to Aluminum Drive and the other directly to North Fork Road. The property is outside the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. Superfund site boundary.

Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. had owned the property since the 1950s. Prior to it becoming an aluminum smelter, it was an idyllic farm some 70-plus years ago.

Ruis said the single-family homes he hopes to sell for about $550,000 with owner financing so people can purchase one with a low down payment and interest rate. 

He said the final price of the homes will depend on the cost of bringing utilities to the site. The city’s water main runs near the property, but the sewer line will have to be extended north under the BNSF Railway tracks. 

If approvals come fairly soon, Ruis said he would like to start grading this year. 

He also spoke to criticism about removing the trees on the property. Ruis said the ranch will have stock like horses and they need open pastures, not woods. 

Ruis races horses and in 2018 his stallion, Bolt d’Oro competed in the Kentucky Derby.

Ruis also has a ranch in Kentucky.