Whitefish housing project a finalist for tax credits

An affordable-housing project proposed next to Piggyback BBQ in Whitefish is one of eight finalists chosen to move forward with housing tax-credit applications through the Montana Board of Housing.

The state board recently reviewed 17 affordable-housing applications from communities throughout Montana to select finalists that will submit full applications for federal tax credits, the primary source of funding for affordable-housing development in the nation.

Up to six projects in Montana will receive the tax credits in November and will be ready to break ground on new developments in the spring of 2019.

Whitefish Housing Authority Executive Director Lori Collins said the Whitefish application was ranked third highest among the eight finalists, largely because of the financial commitment made not only by the property owners but also the city of Whitefish and the Whitefish Housing Authority.

Alan and Lisa Stinson, who live part time in Whitefish, are selling a 2.1-acre tract off Wisconsin Avenue to the housing authority at a substantial discount, Collins said. The housing authority has a signed contract to purchase the land for $632,000; normally it would appraise for around $900,000.

“What clinched it was the city has authorized $150,000 toward the land purchase, and the housing authority committed up to $50,000,” Collins said.

The Stinsons, known in Whitefish for their philanthropic giving, originally purchased the land for a workforce housing project several years ago, but later realized the financial challenge of providing affordable housing as a private-sector developer, Collins said.

The project would include up to 38 affordable one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.

“We haven’t come up with the final design, but it won’t be stack ’em up housing,” Collins said. “To me, this will be our shining castle on the hill, to show what affordable housing can look like.”

The low-income housing tax credit is a federal income tax credit for owners of qualifying rental housing that meets certain low-income occupancy and rent-limitation requirements.

Collins said a number of local people attending the meeting with the Board of Housing, including herself, Whitefish City Manager Adam Hammatt, Whitefish Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kevin Gartland, Whitefish City Council member Katie Williams, Whitefish Housing Authority board members Ben Davis and John Middleton, Kate Berry, a Whitefish resident who has a permanently affordable home through the housing authority; and representatives from Homeword, the Missoula-based nonprofit that is working in tandem with the housing authority.

“We did a great presentation,” Collins said. “I was biting my nails … everybody has needs. They were all such good projects.”

The next step is to complete the application process by Aug. 27.

Other finalists for tax-credit projects include Absarokee (Homestead Lodge), Billings (Chapel Court), Browning (Blackfeet Homes VII), Havre (Oakwood Village), Helena (Red Alder 9), Missoula (Skyview 9), and Ronan (Meadowlark Vista.)

“Every Montanan deserves a safe and affordable place to call home,” Department of Commerce Director Pam Haxby-Cote said in a press release. “That is why these housing credit projects are so important to strengthen Montana’s vibrant communities and support our economy.”

The Montana Board of Housing is part of the Department of Commerce’s Montana Housing. Federal tax credits flow through the state agency and fund the construction or rehabilitation of approximately 200 rental units each year. This year, 17 housing developers in 15 communities requested funding to develop or rehabilitate more than 700 affordable homes.

The tax-credit program creates more than 485 jobs, more than $20.6 million in local wages, and more than $2 million in new taxes and revenues for local governments, according to the Montana Board of Housing.

Several Flathead Valley housing projects have benefited from housing tax credits. Most recently the Little Jon Apartments in Bigfork were renovated using the tax credits for a $4.3 million project.

Features Editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.