Pre 2025

The City of Stanley has held numerous community meetings over the years to get to where we are. The Community has also participated in various surveys.​

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Summary of Surveys

• 2024 Chamber Survey – 86% of respondents said housing availability was limiting hiring and that 120 employees needed housing. In general, people reported that essential workers should be prioritized.

• A 2020-2021 survey by RBDC reported that 122 high season employees struggled to find housing, and most of the current housing was less than ideal for employees. Some businesses reported they were willing to subsidize housing costs in the future. Local business owners also reported that they lack of housing is limiting business’s ability to hire or recruit good candidates and some positions are going unfilled.

• Surveys from 2004, 2016, 2019, and 2024 all reported that over 100 people needed housing.

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Land and Funding​​

• On On August 7, 2015 the 4 acre parcel on Museum Drive was transferred from the Forest Service to the City of Stanley through Public Law 114-46 known as the Sawtooth National Recreation area and Jerry Peak Wilderness Additions Act. 

• On December 27, 2019 the deed transfer for the property was completed and recorded. 

• March 9, 2024 Congress approved $4 million allocation from the Community Project Funding (CPF). This funding is channeled through Housing and Urban Development (HUD) but does not come with the typical HUD requirements. These funds have generally been referred to as the 'HUD Grant'. The funds expire August 31, 2032.

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2025

Selecting a Developer

• At the March 14th meeting the City Council unanimously selected Northwest Real Estate Capital Corp (Northwest) as the developer for the workforce housing project as it ranked the highest through the process that came from the Eastern Idaho Economic Development. The City sent out a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and received three applicants by the due date of February 28th. The same process was followed to select an engineer for the infrastructure part of the project.

• April 2 the City hosted a Town Hall where the Mayor presented the steps accomplished so far and the plan for what was to be completed during the summer. No questions were asked after the presentation.

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Spring and Summer

• S&A Engineers was selected to be the engineer for the workforce housing project.

• Northwest contracted to complete the Market Study which was required by HUD. The Market Study is an analysis of rents and housing in the area.

• A contractor was selected to complete the environmental site analysis, wetland survey, and cultural survey, as required by HUD. SWCA completed the majority of this work during the summer. The City received the final environmental analysis but SWCA continued to work on the cultural survey.

• The City had numerous conversations with geothermal engineers. Developing geothermal infrastructure for the housing projects will be very expensive and will depend on the City obtaining a grant to cover the cost of the infrastructure. With the current administration there are very few grant opportunities or funding sources. 

• The City contracted with Altura to help support the City in applying for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).​​

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Priorities and Community Input on Design

• At the June 12 Regular Council Meeting the Council and Mayor discussed if the essential workers, who are prioritized with this housing, will meet the income restrictions. The thought was that they probably wouldn't but the City will further research this aspect.

• June 25th the City held a Town Hall where Northwest provided the first Visual Preference Survey. This was a chance for the community to give input and provide preferences for the building materials, roof/building style, and community space area of the housing that would be developed.

• Another Town Hall was held August 15th for the Second Visual Preference Survey where Northwest provided basic renderings developed from the previous decisions by the community. The community could again vote on their preferences for roof lines, colors, and layout of the site. At both visual preference meetings John Vance, the Director of Development for Northwest, was present to answer questions.

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Determining Priorities and Feasibility of Low-Income Housing

• At the July 15th Special Council Meeting the council discussed the fact that low-income housing would not meet the community’s needs and would like Northwest to investigate other funding mechanisms. See below and the Low Income Housing section for more information. Some council members also suggested not working with the Developer selected and that the City could just use the 4 million dollars to build fewer units (approximately 10 or less) and have management done by the City or hire a local company to manage the project after it was built. There were numerous questions after this meeting that were investigated.

  • Why would Low Income Housing not meet the communities needs?

    • If low-income housing tax credits are used, residents of the housing have to meet income restrictions. Residents of the housing would have had to have averaged a household income of $32,560 for a single person household and $37,180 for a 2-person household. Most essential workers would not have qualified for the housing due to their income. Household income averaged $70,200 for the essential workers who reported estimates of their household income. The median household income was $67,000. Most households were one or two person households.

    • 17 workers who reported were in one of the following positions reported their household size and income. Positions: Teacher, Nurse/EMT, City Employee, Fire Chief, Sewer Association, Skilled Labor (mechanic, plumber, electrician, equipment operator, builder etc.) Law Enforcement, Library Staff, Forest Service Employee, Local Business Manager Position, Post Office worker. (Data was not collected from all these positions).

  • While the data set of incomes of essential workers is relatively small it shows that overall households with workers in professional positions would not qualify for low-income housing. It is these professional, essential workers that the community and council have prioritized for housing.

• In a July 31 Special Council Meeting the Council reviewed estimates of construction and the feasibility of the City building units with just the HUD grant (see summary below). Some Council members were hoping that revenue from the rent could be saved to build future housing. The Council also defined the priorities for housing as listed below.

  • A Stanley builder previously provided the City with estimates of the cost per square foot of construction ($500/sq ft). Those numbers were used to estimate how many units could be built. Estimated rents were used to calculate the difference between revenue and expenditure in the management and operations of the housing. This information was used to determine how long it would take before there was enough savings to build more units. The cost of infrastructure was NOT included in these estimates. All numbers in this scenario were estimates but provide basic information on the feasibility of various scenarios.

    • If the City has outside funding to cover the complete cost of infrastructure, two 1-bedroom (1000 sq ft) and four 2-bedroom (1200 sq ft) units could be built. With rental rates at $1000 for 1 bedroom and $2,000, it would take approximately 100 years of saved revenue from the project to be able to build 14 more units.

    • If the City has outside funding to cover the complete cost of infrastructure AND another 1.7 million in funding, three 1-bedroom (1000 sq ft) and seven 2-bedroom (1200 sq ft) units could be built. With rental rates at $1000 for 1 bedroom and $2,000 it would take approximately 26 years of saved revenue from the project to be able to build 10 more units.

  • Priorities for the project:

    • #1 Housing for essential workers (This does not preclude other local workers from living in the housing).

    • #2 Rent Price – keeping it low/affordable

    • #3 Livability, appealing, quality, aesthetically appealing

    • #4-6 Availability of family units, balance cost with infrastructure, storage & pets

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Bringing the Property into City Jurisdiction and Evaluating Finances

• After a public hearing on September 11th the Municipal District Zone was updated to include workforce housing as a permitted use.

• At the September 11th Regular Council meeting the Mayor provided an update on where various aspects of the workforce housing project stood with a focus on the completion of HUD requirements for environmental and cultural surveys as well as the restrictions that the CBDG grant would place on the project.

• After a public hearing on October 30th the 4 acres workforce housing property, and some surrounding Forest Service land was annexed into the City Limits. Annexation does not change ownership of the land; it just changes jurisdiction. All City Code (Ordinances) now apply to the City’s workforce housing project.

• John Vance, from Northwest, joined the November 13th Council Meeting to provide basic information on the finances of the project. Northwest had provided a few options for how the City could contribute to the project. The City can contribute saved option tax over a period of time to be able to continue receiving interest on the account. In this meeting, the breakdown of the room units was modified by council request to six 1-befroom units, eight 2-bedroom, and four 3-bedroom units.

  • The City staff worked with Northwest and the City Attorney to refine the financial plan and answer outstanding questions from the Council.

• December 1st the council held a workshop to review the financial plan. There was a discussion between council members about the difference between low income and affordable housing for professional essential employees. Some council members expressed concern about the workforce housing affecting the local rental market. There was concern expressed by some council members for having a long term lease with the developer and the City being burdened with management of the project for the long term.

  • The council continued to discuss the feasibility of the City taking on the project with out the support of a developer.

    • A more detailed evaluation of what the City could build and manage just using the HUD grant was provided to the council after the meeting.

      • Initial evaluations show that if the City used the HUD grant to cover the cost of infrastructure and construction at $400/sq ft (lower than quoted by a local builder) the City could construct two 1-bedroom units and two 2-bedroom units (4 units total). If $1,400 was charged for the 1-bedroom units and $1,800 was charged for the 2-bedroom units the City would just cover the estimated management cost.

• The City held a Special Council Meeting December 18th to review the financial plan, the Option to Lease (a precursor to the lease agreement), and to vote on suggested names for the workforce housing project. Northwest cannot move forward with the project to get funding, engage architects, and contractors without an Option to Lease and approved financial plan. Two council members did not show up and so there was not a quorum, and the meeting could not be held.

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Fall and Winter 2025

• The geotechnical survey was completed was completed by Northwest to evaluate the soils to determine engineering needs. 

• The City decided not to pursue the CBDG grant as it would put low income restrictions on the units and increase cost by adding Build America Buy America (BABA) requirements.

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2026

January Community Input

• Many community members attended a Town Hall and following workforce housing meetings. The general feedback was that the proposed rents were too high. The community thought the unit size could be reduced. Some people thought garages were necessary, others thought they were not. After the meeting the City followed up with Northwest to make changes to the design and find ways to lower the rent. 

  • Northwest agreed to make changes to the design to lower the cost by removing some amenities including the kitchen island, the master bathroom in the 3 bedroom units, and the overall living space would be reduced. The garages on some units would be removed and two more 1 bedroom units would be added. 

  • The updated projected resulting from these changes are:

    • 1 bedroom, no garage - $1,100 (total of 4 units)

    • 1 bedroom, with garage - $1,400 (total of 4 units)

    • 2 bedroom, no garage - $1,600 (total of 4 units)

    • 2 bedroom, with garage - $2,000 (total of 4 units)

    • 3 bedroom, no garage $2,100 (total of 2 units)

    • 3 bedroom, with garage $2,400 (total of 2 units)​

  • See the most up to date rents here.

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• The Option to Lease was signed February 12, 2026. This agreement is between the City of Stanley and the developer, Northwest. It is to provide some surety to Northwest that the City will lease the property to them so they can work further on obtaining financing and planning. The City and Northwest will now work in good faith to negotiate and sign the Ground Lease as well as other documents. 

• In March the City Council voted on 119 names submitted by the public for the Workforce Housing project. Bluebird Bend was selected.

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Legal Support 

• The City is currently working with John McDevitt with Skinner Fawcett LLP to provide legal guidance to the City on the legal framework between the City and Northwest. The following is a list of the various documents that will be negotiated and eventually signed to ensure the City and communities interests are protected through this project.

  • Ground Lease – A long-term lease agreement (65-year term) between the City and Northwest documenting the terms and conditions under which the City will lease the property to Northwest.

  • Regulatory Agreement – An agreement between the City and Northwest that contains the occupancy/eligibility restrictions for the workforce housing units.

  • Development Agreement – An agreement between the City and Northwest that outlines how the property will be developed.

  • HUD Grant Subrecipient Agreement – An agreement between the City and Northwest pursuant to which the City grants HUD funds to Northwest subject to compliance to HUD requirements.

  • Local Option Tax Contribution Funding Agreement – An agreement between the City and Northwest that outlines the terms associated with the City providing additional funds to the project using the City’s Local Option Tax.

• The City held a Town Hall in April on the Regulatory Agreement. The community provided feedback on how they thought the agreement should be structured. The majority of the suggestions were included in the agreement. 

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Project Management Support & Permitting Approvals

• In April the City sent out a RFP to select a project management firm for the project. Perspective Planning was selected by the council and a contract to work with them was signed in May. Brad Cramer of Perspective Planning along with his subcontractor Ryan Singleton of Mountain West Engineers have been advising the City and supporting the City in moving forward with the Workforce Housing Project.

• In May the City Council approved the preliminary site plan after review by the project management team. This step needed to be completed to submit permits to the Army Corps of Engineers, the Forest Service for Special Use Permits, complete required cultural surveys with SHPO, and complete consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture.

• In June a specialist from the Army Corps of Engineers visited the site. The City is trying to obtain a jurisdictional determination on the wetlands on the property as it will effect if mitigation is needed for development.

• In July the City:

  • Received approval for the project from SHPO which completes the cultural survey requirement. 

  • Received confirmation of consultation from the Sawtooth National Forest Forest Supervisor who was delegated to act on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture. 

  • Received a Special Use Permit from the Forest Service to cross Forest Service Land to connect to the Stanley Sewer line.

Summer

• Northwest is working with Glacier Bank to obtain financing. Northwest plans to use 501c3 tax exempt bonds through IHFA to fiance the project as they have slightly lower rates than a traditional bank loan. 

• The City has received reports from the project management team that review the agreements, pro forma, and design plans. 

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Approval of Agreements

• At an August workshop the Council met again with the project management team, the housing legal team, and Northwest to review the agreements and wrap up any concerns or questions on the agreements. Many of the concerns addressed can be found in the FAQ section.

• A meeting is scheduled September 9, 2026 at 5pm to hold a vote on the agreements

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Looking Ahead

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• For the project to progress, the City and Northwest must sign the Agreements.

• The City and Northwest are working to complete further permitting with the Forest Service, DEQ, IDWR, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

• Northwest plans to break ground in October to complete the infrastructure. 

• Northwest plans to line up all contractors and secure bids and materials to lock in prices this winter and so that work can start as soon as possible next spring.

• The City's Project Management team will review and approve the construction plans for both the site and buildings. They will also complete periodic inspections throughout construction. 

• Occupancy is predicted to begin in early 2028.