Workforce Rental Units to Open Up in South Whitefish Housing Development
Twelve income-restricted apartments are expected in the first phase of Alpine 93/40 — a new development complex being built just south of Whitefish near the intersection of U.S. Highway 93 and Montana Highway 40.
By Lauren Frick
New rental homes are coming to Whitefish this fall as the first phase of Alpine 93/40 — an apartment community at the intersection of Highway 93 and Highway 40 — nears completion.
Twelve income-restricted apartments are expected to become available following the completion of the project’s first phase, with the developer anticipating move-ins for the first building to be in early- to mid-November, Housing Whitefish Executive Director Daniel Sidder said.
Once fully complete, the residential development, which was approved by the Whitefish city council in November 2023, will include 210 homes across two phases, including 21 dedicated workforce rental units. The remaining apartments at Alpine 93/40 will be available at market rates.
The workforce rental units will be spread out across six buildings, including a mixture of one- and two-bedroom units of about 950 square feet. The developer’s design plans also included about 15,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, and other amenities, including a workout facility, playground, dog park, shared-use path, and an improved crosswalk at Highway 40.
The 12 workforce rental units planned for the first phase include: four one-bedroom, one-bath apartments expected to lease for around $1,330 per month, and eight two-bedroom, one-bath apartments expected to lease for around $1,600 per month. Both figures include utilities.
The estimated range for the target annual incomes for each household size include: one-person household ($40,000 – 58,000); two-person household ($45,000 – $65,000); three-person household ($50,000 – $73,000); and four-person household ($55,000 – $82,000), Sidder said.
“It is exciting to see these new affordable units hit the market with no public subsidy dollars,” Sidder said. “The program is a win-win; the developer was allowed to build more units and have less parking than the zoning allowed, and the city receives permanently affordable rental units.”
The units will be offered to eligible households through the City of Whitefish’s Legacy Homes Program — a voluntary, incentive-based inclusionary zoning program where a development provides 10% of the total number of units within a development for people with moderate income in exchange for certain incentives. Once all 21 workforce rental units at Alpine 93/40 are complete, the development is expected to bring the Legacy Homes Program’s total to 40 deed-restricted rental units.
“We know how difficult it can be for people who work in the Whitefish area to find a home here,” Alberto Valner, the owner and project developer of Alpine 93/40, said. “Participating in the Legacy Homes Program allowed us to include long-term workforce housing within a community designed for a range of residents. We’re proud that Alpine 93/40 will add both new rental options and homes that remain affordable over time.”
Housing Whitefish will handle income screening and maintain the waitlist for the workforce rental units. The Whitefish Housing Authority will continue overseeing the deed restrictions and program compliance.
“We are encouraging people to complete the pre-eligibility form as soon as they can so that when the units are available, they have already been income qualified,” Sidder said. “Because Housing Whitefish is only doing the income verification, we can’t guarantee that the property manager will approve the application as they might have other criteria [such as] credit, criminal background, evictions, that they make their final decision on.”
Rental applications for Alpine 93/40 apartments are expected to become available early to mid-October, Sidder said. Households interested in the workforce rental units can complete a pre-eligibility form now at housingwhitefish.org/rental-units.