Big mixed-use project returns to Whitefish Planning Board

Plans to build a 70-room hotel, a microbrewery, a restaurant, offices, boutique shops and condominiums at the site of a shuttered timber plant along the Whitefish River will return to the Whitefish Planning Board on Thursday.

In response to the changing real estate market and pandemic-related challenges, the developers behind the ambitious "95 Karrow" project want to reduce the planned commercial space and dramatically increase the number of planned housing units.

The project, spearheaded by Whitefish builder and developer Casey Malmquist, aims to revitalize a 14-acre property at 95 Karrow Ave. that has been vacant since Idaho Timber of Montana closed its plant after 30 years of operation.

The Whitefish City Council approved a preliminary plat for the project in January 2018 and a year later approved an amendment allowing for "clubs, private and semi-private recreational facilities" as potential uses of the property, which sits a block north of U.S. 93 West and a block east of the Whitefish Lake Golf Club.

"Since that time, the applicant has been working toward final plat and meeting the conditions, has done significant site work and is working through permitting for work along the river," a city planning staff report states.

Now Malmquist and his investment partners, via 95 Karrow LLC, are asking the board to approve a second amendment that would add 74 residential units to the 10 units the city approved in 2018.

The amendment also would relocate the planned microbrewery, eliminate one building, and reconfigure the footprint of a "marketplace" building that was anticipated to house a "wellness institute," an idea that didn't pan out.

In a letter to the Planning Board, architect Bruce Boody said the proposed changes would have no additional impacts on traffic or the surrounding neighborhood. He said a pedestrian path through the development would serve all city residents, and noted the residential units would not be permitted for use as short-term rentals.

"Building locations, parking, open space and circulation all remain largely as approved," Boody wrote. "If approved, the changes will result in a robust 24-hour-a-day use of the site and will add diverse and unique housing options to the Whitefish market. In response to real estate demands and trends, residential uses will serve as a cornerstone of the development, supporting a complementary mix of previously approved nonresidential uses."

It wasn't clear when construction would begin, or when the project would be completed. Malmquist didn't immediately return a phone message seeking comment Tuesday.

THE PLANNING Board will hold a public hearing and vote on the proposed changes during a meeting beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday at Whitefish City Hall, 418 E. Second St. The board's recommendation will then go to the Whitefish City Council for a final vote.

The Planning Board also will consider:

• Requests from Al Marco and Chris Ellis for major lakeshore variances to remove a noncompliant seawall below the high-water mark at 235 and 245 Glenwood Road.
• A request from Beene Smyley for a conditional-use permit to build an accessory apartment over a new garage at 304 Columbia Ave.
• A request from Paige MacDonald for a conditional-use permit to build an accessory apartment above a new two-car garage at 950 Edgewood Place.
• Requests from 406 Standard LLC for a conditional-use permit and a zone change to build six detached single-family condos at 1625 U.S. 93 W.
• A request from Doug Vanee, Randy Vanee, Bruce Groenenboom and Jim Groenenboom for preliminary plat approval to subdivide a residential property at 504 Dakota Ave. into two lots.
• A proposal from city staff to update Whitefish's subdivision regulations to comply with new state laws from the last legislative session.
• A request from the city to amend the latest draft of the Highway 93 South Corridor Plan, which awaits final approval from the City Council on Sept. 20.

Assistant editor Chad Sokol may be reached at 406-758-4439 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com.