Housing projects surge in Kalispell
With a two-fold increase in Kalispell building permits last year, it was inevitable local construction would follow in a big way. City officials expect a banner year for residential growth.
There are hundreds of approved residential units in the pipeline, waiting to start construction this year or in the near future.
“There’s a lot,” Kalispell Senior Planner P.J. Sorensen affirmed, though he added, "It’s hard to project” when already-approved units might end up being constructed.
Once developers secure preliminary-plat approval from the city for a new development, the green light is on at a given property for three years. But developers, Sorensen explained, can reapply for extensions on preliminary plats, which means construction could soon start on lands that have sat vacant for years.
One of the most recent proposals is the 455-unit Four Mile Farmstead residential development, planned south of Four Mile Drive and west of Stillwater Road on 110 acres that would be annexted into the city. That project goes before the Kalispell Planning Board on March 9.
Sorensen listed a sampling of of other major residential projects that already have approval to start construction this year. There’s Farmstead’s neighbor to the north, Stillwater Crossing, a 31.5-acre property slated to add 83 single-family units and 192 multi-family units.
Also in the North Kalispell area is the Bloomstone subdivision, a 365-unit development that will be gradually rolled out in four phases, divided between single-family and multifamily residences. Sorensen said construction could begin on Bloomstone’s single-family portion this year.
Similar in scope to Bloomstone is the Meadow’s Edge subdivision on Farm-to-Market Road, which will include 322 residential units, all told. Phase 2 of this ambitious plan is expected to start this year, encompassing 37 single-family units.
Building also could get underway soon at Owl View Landing near Glacier High School. The development’s first building will include approximately 24 units—but that’s just the start of a long-range project intended to gradually come together over the next decade.
Sorensen expects to see residences added at two other North Kalispell sites — Eagle Valley Ranch and Stillwater Bend. The timeline and unit count are indeterminate for both projects, but it’s likely only a matter of time before building begins on the two large parcels.
The area northwest of the city has lately become the locus of new construction because the region has the space and infrastructure to support such growth. Between the recently completed Westside Interceptor sewer main and the forthcoming regional stormwater facility, which starts construction this month, Northwest Kalispell is equipped with some of the newest utility services anywhere in the area.
“The northwest area is one of those areas prime for growth in the city,” Sorensen noted.
But that’s not the only construction hotspot around town.
On Hathaway Lane west of the city, 28 residential units are slated for building this fall as part of the Autumn Creek subdivision.
Greenway Development Group starts construction in May for 144 apartment units on Meridian Court on the south end of Meridian Road, with the expectation the four apartment buildings will be move-in ready by May 1, 2022.
Jaxon Ridge on South Woodland Drive will seek final plat approval for 26 single-family lots in the next few weeks.
And although there hasn’t been any recent movement at the Glenwood West property near the Gateway Community Center, Sorensen identified that spot as a potential site to see new development soon, too.