The Blaine Manor Progression
ARCH Community Housing broke ground on The Blaine Manor Community at 706 s. main on Sept 21st, 2020. In spite of COVID and all the restrictions in the world, construction begun with safety measures in place and a serious crew of hard-working individuals. The county commissioners donated the land and committed $500,000 to the project. […]
The impact of “filtering” and why we are experiencing a crisis
The impact of “filtering” and why we are experiencing a crisis in housing availability. There are building sites everywhere and construction is taking off again, so why is it so difficult to find an affordable home? Part of the answer lies with the effects of “filtering”. The definition of filtering is that homes become more […]
The Housing Affordability Pickle
The Housing Affordability Pickle Valley cities face a complex puzzle of jobs, housing, and long-term viability “If jobs-versus – [housing] rentals in the classifieds are a kind of balance sheet to economic health, the situation is totally out of whack considering the discrepancy in column inches for each side of the equation.” Sun Valley Magazine discusses […]
We are NOT the national norm.
The City of Sun Valley successfully amends the definition of “Housing Burden” to fit our community. The City of Sun Valley pays competitive wages. City employees earn more than area median income making them ineligible for homes managed by the housing authority. Yet housing costs were repeatedly the reason employees left the City, and […]
What is the difference between ARCH and BCHA?
ARCH and BCHA divide the tasks of delivering affordable housing in Blaine County between development and stewardship. ARCH develops affordable housing. Once homes are completed, BCHA matches households on the waiting list with available homes. They also provide ongoing property management and compliance monitoring. Put simply, ARCH does bricks and sticks and BCHA does people. […]
Every Friday $2.2 Million in paychecks drive away from the county and our economy.
In order to enhance the social fabric of our community people must live and work in the same area. Those who do make an “investment” in their community by attending social events, frequenting restaurants, volunteering at their children’s schools, shopping locally and supporting charitable causes. In 2014, the State of Idaho reported that over 3800 […]
Who are the applicants?
Resort Personnel — Everyone from the folks that left the mint on your uncles pillow when he stayed at the lodge to the ski patrol person that rescued you with a toboggan when you blew your ACL in the bowls. Emergency Personnel — Right.. the guy that saved your life when you were having a heart […]
COMMUNITY HOUSING: It’s a balancing act.
One might argue that Community Housing programs are unnecessary. ” Let the free market forces level the playing field; do not engage in social engineering,” is the cry heard most often. The problem with that point of view is that in order for the fee market to address the problem, wages, and therefore prices of […]
It’s simple: If you can’t afford to live here, you won’t work here.
The supply of moderately priced housing is critical to the economic viability of the Wood River Valley. Every employer facing hiring decisions is confronted with not being able to recommend affordable housing options for prospective employees. Until we, as a community, can create a supply of quality housing options at moderate prices we will struggle […]
What is an affordability gap anyway?
An AFFORDABILITY GAP is the difference between the median selling price of homes and the amount purchasers (earning median household income) can afford to pay for them. Normally, purchasers with fixed wages are limited to a target purchase price of roughly 3 times their annual wages. In 2016, over 87% of all homes sold in […]