KALISPELL — Affordable housing is at a premium in the Flathead Valley, but thanks to the Whitefish Community Foundation and NeighborWorks Montana, one community is taking ownership of its future.
In Kalispell, two mobile home communities, Willow Glen and Twin Acres, are known together as Twin Willows. They are home to 55 families, but rising housing costs in the Flathead Valley are making it tough for residents to stay.
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Alan Davis, Whitefish Community Foundation president and CEO, said the stakes are high for mobile home park residents across the region.
"Mobile home parks get sold in the Flathead Valley and they either just get cleared out for development or the rent goes up by 100% in a year and that's not sustainable for anybody."
NeighborWorks Montana purchased the Twin Willows property. The Montana Board of Investments is covering 75 percent of the multimillion-dollar acquisition, with NeighborWorks Montana leading the effort to convert it into a resident-owned cooperative.
Kaia Peterson, NeighborWorks Montana executive director, said the work is central to the organization's mission.
"This is one of the things we do. We work with residents in manufactured home parks to help them buy their land."
But purchasing that land puts a financial strain on the families who live there.
"They're taking on a lot. They have to take on a portion of this cost, so that cost is really being born by the residents," Peterson said.
That's where the Whitefish Community Foundation is helping through its major community project grant, working to offset the costs residents must take on to own their land. Davis said the focus on preserving existing housing is just as important as building new units.
"One of the reasons we really wanted to jump in was to preserve the housing units we have. The affordable housing conversation is often really focused on new inventory, 'let's build a bunch of new things!' But we really need to focus on protecting the housing we do have."
The public can also help by donating directly to the project. Davis said every contribution reduces the debt burden on residents.
"Every dollar that's raised for this project will basically buy down the debt that the homeowners have to take on. So anybody that wants to support the project can make a gift directly to NeighborWorks Montana for the Twin Willows Project."
Donations will be accepted thorough NeighborWorks until July 31.
