High interest rates coupled with shortages in skilled labor have influenced development projects in the Flathead Valley toward more concentrated multi-family units, according to city officials, real estate agents and builders.
Kalispell City Council voted to apply for a $1.36 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant at its Monday meeting, simultaneously criticizing the state Legislature’s recent efforts to address Montana’s housing crisis.
If the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing grant is awarded, city officials are planning on spending $200,000 toward a housing study, $363,66 to a growth policy, zoning and subdivision update, and $400,000 each to water and wastewater facility plans.
The project encompasses the replacement of concrete pipe and other structures corroded by hydrogen sulfide along the stretch of main leading to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, according to a memo by Deputy Director of Public Works Keith Haskins.