Apartments cleared for occupancy

SANDPOINT — After several delays, Milltown Apartments is set to open.

Originally projected to open in August, the apartment complex located north of Super 1 sat empty while developer Whitewater Creek, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and several legal teams worked to finalize a $1 million federal loan.

According to USDA multi-family housing officer Christine Fisher, the loan finally closed on Christmas Eve. With all the finances in order, the ball is now in Whitewater Creek’s court to start moving people in and signing leases — a process that will likely take place over the next two to three weeks.

“Good things are worth waiting for,” Sandpoint City Planner Jeremy Grimm said. “This project meets a number of our community’s needs.”

According to Tammy Martinsen of the Bonner County Homelessness Task Force and Transitions In Progress Services, the delay in opening has left some low-income individuals in the lurch as they gave up previous rentals to take advantage of the low-income rent assistance. The forthcoming opening will come as good news to those living with relatives or in other temporary housing during the interim.

“That’s our main concern — getting people settled in,” Fisher said.

Milltown Apartments are designed to provide tenants with a high standard of living at an affordable, subsidized price. The units are built to exacting efficiency standards and are equipped with renewable energy measures like solar panels and geothermal technology that provides tenants with low, rebated energy bills. The apartments are also very convenient to Super 1 Foods, Farmin Stidwell Elementary School and a SPOT stop for public transportation.

According to Grimm, the Milltown Apartments are a major asset in working toward one of Sandpoint’s long-term goals: affordable housing. With the trend of well-to-do families buying regional houses and jacking up real estate values, a variety of housing options gives people of all income levels access to the town and the community.

Furthermore, the building project poses a new future for the 27 acres north of Super 1 along Boyer Avenue. When the Milltown Apartments project was initially approved, council members replatted the area into multiple lots. Nine lots still remain, with some community members suggesting they be used for a community center, additional housing, a movie theater or some similar attraction.

“This project sets a pretty high bar when we look at new infill development,” Grimm said.