Affordable housing project nears completion

PRIEST RIVER — A workforce housing project will soon be ready for the one thing needed to transform the six houses in the River View area of town into homes — families to fill them with laughter, joy and a lifetime of memories.

After six months of work since a September groundbreaking, the Village at River View community land trust housing initiative is nearing completion and setting the stage for families to move into the homes. Construction went smoothly with project contractor Daum Construction meeting all milestones and aided by a mild winter to keep the project on track.

"We are so close," Katie Cox, Kaniksu Land Trust executive director, said.

A final walk-through is set for April 16 with the homes ready for families to move in as soon as June 1. An open house is set for April 25 between 3-5 p.m.

Lottery-style drawings for the first six homes will be held on the first of each month until the homes are all sold.

"These homes are for families in our community who have been priced out of the real estate market," Cox said on behalf of the workforce housing partnership comprised of the land trust, the Bonner Community Housing Agency, and LEAP Housing, a housing nonprofit working to create and preserve affordable housing in Idaho. 

The three-bedroom, two-bath homes are built to the same architectural and engineering standards as other homes, using the same floor plans and materials as other homes in the neighborhood, located on Priest River's north side.

"These homes are beautiful … There are walking trails and sidewalks and the homes are in close proximity to town center and schools," Cox said.

Built without any government funds, the homes are affordable and offer families the stability of owning their own home, LEAP and land trust officials said. 

According to online housing affordability calculators, the most that someone making the area's median income of roughly $61,800 should pay for a home is just over $299,000.

As more people have found — and moved to — Bonner County, housing costs have skyrocketed with the average price of a home in the county estimated at about $618,000 and the median home list price at $681,200, according to online real estate databases Zillow.com and Rocket.com respectively.

"We know that affordability is a challenge for many families in Bonner County," Cox said. "With the price of homes rising well beyond the average median income, home ownership has been unattainable for many in our community."

Land trust and LEAP officials are hoping that the project will be an answer to the area's affordable housing dilemma.

"We look forward to helping families be able to own their own home, building equity and providing housing stability," Cox added.

Because the cost of land is removed from the equation, the initiative was able to bring the homes in at a substantially lower cost. While a similar home is on the market for $325,000, the homes that make up the community land trust's housing initiative are priced at $260,000. 

While many people have expressed interest in the homes, LEAP and land trust officials said families must get pre-approved for a loan to move from the interested list onto the lottery list. At this point, no one has made it onto the lottery list and project organizers are working with interested families to see if they can help guide them through the loan process.

"The higher-than-normal mortgage rates have been burdensome to many so we are also investigating programs through the USDA or FHA to help support the lowest possible monthly costs for our buyers," Cox said.

The hope is that by spreading the word and helping interested families they can get community residents moving through the approval process for a home loan — and into their own home, Cox said.

The homes — the first of what LEAP, land trust officials and their partners plan to build in Bonner County — are targeted to those living and working in the Priest River area. To qualify for the homes, residents must work in the five ZIP codes that make up the west side community — 83804, 83841, 83848, 83856, 83822 or 83821 — and must earn 67% of their income from those areas.

Salaries must be at or below 120% of the area's median income — about $76,384. Interested residents must be at least 18 years old and not own any other real estate.

"Those individuals who have been in the long cycle of renting that have wanted to own their own home, paint their own walls and plant flowers, this is a project that can finally make those dreams a reality," Cox said. "Many have been priced out of the real estate market or have had to spend over 35% of their income on housing. This is not a sustainable model.  These homes are meant to help our missing middle — our workforce."

LEAP and land trust officials said the homes are targeted at community residents who have been priced out of the region's tough real estate market. Designed for families of three or more whose income falls under the $76,000-per-year threshold, the homes give those dreaming of their own home a shot at moving out of the rental market. 

"Homeowners build equity at a rate of 2.5% every year," Cox told the Daily Bee. "These homes are also for individuals who live and work in the region. They are aimed at supporting those in our service industry who are making under 120% of the area median income."

While officials said the goal is to fill the homes with Priest River families, they said there is an outside chance they may need to open the homes to all of Bonner County. 

"If you are someone who lives in Bonner County and would love to be able to purchase one of these homes, the most important step you can take right now is to work with our local lending agencies and get your pre-approval process ready," Cox said.

The project dates back to 2021, when the land trust began laying the groundwork for the housing initiative, first establishing a housing advisory committee that began drafting governing documents, structuring operations, drafting the ground lease, and researching mortgage and lending options. 

Its genesis can be traced to a community forum sponsored by the land trust, Project 7B and the Selkirk Association of Realtors. It was at that forum that land trust officials began thinking about what they could do to act as a catalyst to move hopes for attainable housing from an idea to a reality.

Helping make the homes possible was support from the Equinox, Avista and Sangham foundations, Land Trust Alliance, Evergreen Realty, Bonner Community Housing Agency, LEAP Housing, Kaniksu Land Trust and an anonymous donor. 

"Community members and organizations who understand the challenges for our workforce provided the funding to make these homes possible," Cox said.

    An open house for the six homes that make up the Village and River View affordable housing initiative is set for April 25 between 3-5 p.m.
  

    An affordable workforce housing initiative — the Village at River View — is nearing completion setting the stage for families to move into the homes as soon as June 1.