Idaho Mountain Express: Housing plans come to fruition

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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Housing plans come to fruition

Northwood Place’s total costs are estimated at about $9.4 million, with $6 million of that coming fr

By TREVON MILLIARD
Express Staff Writer

Ketchum Community Development Corp. members present the city of Ketchum with a $938,814 check for its 65-year lease and fees of the Northwood Place property. From left: Ketchum City Councilman Charles Conn, CDC Energy Solutions Team Chair and President of board of directors Neil Bradshaw, Councilman Curtis Kemp, CDC Affordable Workforce Housing Team Chair Michael Carpenter, Councilman Larry Helzel, Council President Baird Gourlay, Mayor Randy Hall and CDC Executive Director Neil Morrow. Photo by Willy Cook

Okland Construction crews tore through the undisturbed soil at the open lot north of the Wood River Community YMCA in Ketchum last week, starting a yearlong project that will culminate in a five-building, 32-unit, affordable rental housing development.

To celebrate the occasion, Ketchum city staff and members of Ketchum's Community Development Corp. took copper-spaded shovels in hand on Monday for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the city-owned Northwood Place property.

Hard hats were a must, seeing that crews are already at work and have done a good deal of digging. Okland Area Manager Ben Petzinger said concrete would begin to be poured Wednesday.

Despite city officials' carrying out the groundbreaking after the fact, the ceremony was a chance for the CDC to present the city with a $939,000 check.

Ketchum is leasing the 0.84-acre Park and Ride lot to the CDC at a lease cost of $890,000 for 65 years. The CDC still owes the city about $200,000 in fees, which will be paid at completion.

The CDC is an entity born of the city, but it is not part of the city. In that respect, the private, nonprofit organization is not much different than the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau. According to the CDC's Web site, its goal is to work with other groups and political bodies to improve the overall culture and viability of Ketchum.

Affordable housing has become a dominant element of the effort to retain a working class.

Northwood Place will offer a dozen one-bedroom units, 14 two-bedroom units, and six three-bedroom units for a total of 33,000 square feet.

CDC Executive Director Neil Morrow said respective monthly rent rates would be about $400, $800 and $1,070, but that varies depending on a renter's income. Morrow said the low-end rate for the one-bedroom units would be in the $300 range.

"We're hoping to not rent too many of those," he said. "We wouldn't make any money. But we'd be getting people into homes, and that's the point."

Northwood Place's total costs are estimated at about $9.4 million, with $6 million of that coming from construction. Morrow said the federal tax credits received in January should at least cover construction costs.

At the beginning of the year, these tax credits equated to $8.8 million. But the value has dropped to between $7 million and $8 million due to the suffering national economy's causing the tax-credit market to shrink. Morrow said the exact tax-credit value is still up in the air, but he's confident that it will remain in the $7 million to $8 million range.

Besides offering affordable apartments, Northwood Place will also provide a courtyard in the center of the complex complete with a community terrace and an indoor community room with a kitchen for functions. An unusual twist will be 3,000 square feet of roof space for solar collectors, said Dale Bates, member of the CDC Town Design Team.

Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com

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