Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 9.30.15

NEWS
Whitefish City Leaders Vow to Address Affordable Housing Issues Montana West Economic Development, Whitefish Chamber of Commerce hold summit on workforce housing
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
While Whitefish is abuzz with con- struction, local officials are worried the people who work at those new develop- ments will not be able to afford to live in the community.
The issue of affordable workforce housing was the subject of a summit hosted by Montana West Economic Development and the Whitefish Cham- ber of Commerce on Sept. 24. About 40 business and city leaders attended the morning meeting at Grouse Mountain Lodge.
Mayor John Muhlfeld opened with a story about how he moved to the valley in 1995 and worked minimum wage jobs just to ski in the winter. But doing that today is tougher, he said, as rental rates
continue to rise in Whitefish at a faster rate than anywhere else in the valley.
“We’re slowly seeing the affordability gap widening here,” Muhlfeld said.
Robert Horne, Jr. of Applied Commu- nications, LLC, a local community-plan- ning firm, illustrated that widening gap in a presentation following Muhlfeld’s remarks. In it, Horne noted that the average home price in Whitefish is nearly twice that of a home in Flathead County as a whole. According to the data, in 2015 the average price of a home in Flat- head County cost $235,500, whereas the average price of a home in Whitefish cost $410,795. The data also shows a signifi- cant spike in home prices in Kalispell and Columbia Falls between 2014 and 2015.
Whitefish also has some of the high- est housing costs for renters. According
to U.S. Census data, the average renter pays $812 a month in Whitefish, whereas the average renter in Kalispell pays $731. As a result of the higher prices, some of the people who work in Whitefish cannot afford to live there.
Horne also talked about his experi- ence as a community planner in Jack- son Hole, Wyo., which has faced similar issues in recent years. To address the lack of affordable housing, Jackson Hole has instituted linkage rules that require certain area businesses, especially ones in the service industry, to find ways to house their employees. Jackson Hole has also implemented inclusionary require- ments that mandates developers to aside some housing for low-income renters or buyers.
According to City Manager Chuck
Stearns, Whitefish has voluntary inclu- sionary zones where developers can earn certain density bonuses. Stearns said to make the inclusionary zones mandatory in Whitefish, a complete housing needs assessment would be required. However, many people in attendance felt it was an option that should be explored.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Whitefish Chamber Executive Direc- tor Kevin Gartland said the city should work with the business community to create a position or committee to further research the town’s housing issues.
“When we walk out of this room we need to have someone carry the torch on this issue,” he said.
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Nonprofit Group Acquires Gateway West Mall for $2.4 Million Acquisition secures the future of Gateway Community Center and its nonprofit agencies
BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
A group of nonprofit agencies announced Sept. 15 it was purchasing the former Gateway West Mall on the west end of Kalispell, securing the vision of former county administrator Earl Ben- nett, who hoped to develop a centralized campus for health and human services.
Sherry Stevens, executive director of Northwest Montana United Way, said Westside CCC, Inc. is acquiring the for- mer shopping mall on behalf of the Gate- way Community Center, which encom- passes a dozen nonprofit groups, includ- ing the Flathead Food Bank, CASA for Kids and Summit Independent Living Center. Westside CCC is a new entity that will hold the asset apart from the assets of United Way.
Negotiations have been underway for
over a year to purchase the property, Ste- vens said. Earlier this month, United Way announced a campaign to raise $1 million to help purchasethe site from its owners, American Capital Group, a private equi- ties firm headquartered in California.
Several businesses, organizations and residents donated to the fundraising campaign, and at “the 11th hour” a local resident who wishes to remain anon- ymous helped complete the financing, Stevens said.
The purchase price is $2.4 million for the 100,000-square-foot building.
“There were many community play- ers that came together to make Earl Ben- nett’s dream a reality. We are grateful to Glacier Bank; Montana West Economic Development; PureWest Real Estate; Moore, Cockrell, Goicoechea & Axel- berg, PC; JCCS CPA’s PC; Rotary Clubs;
private donors; and the many profession- als that have given countless hours of their time to guide us through the pro- cess,” Stevens said.
“We are grateful to the Kalispell Min- isterial Association and the hundreds of individuals who have been praying about the outcome of the purchase.”
The 60,645-square-foot section of property where TeleTech operates will not be part of the sale.
The community center and its non- profits serve roughly 1,700 clients each month, according to administrators.
Acquiring the site prevents the agen- cies from being uprooted and allows the community center to begin expanding its services and programs. A proposed activ- ity center is planned as a venue for larger events, meetings and youth and senior activities. The goal is to have 19 agencies
that provide a total of 50 different pro- grams and services, administrators say.
“Saving this community investment was critical to the project and our com- munity,” stated Jim Oliverson, an exec- utive with Kalispell Regional Healthcare and a chairperson with Westside CCC.
The Flathead County Commission- ers hosted a $40,000 planning grant through the Department of Commerce that helped purchase the facility, accord- ing to Stevens. The grant allowed for an architectural review, appraisal and envi- ronmental study of the site.
Originally called the Gateway West Shopping Center and Plaza, the mall opened in the spring of 1973 on an open section of 26 acres along U.S. Highway 2 West. It sat vacant for years until the com- munity center was developed in 2009.
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SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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