Shoshone County to look before they LEAP

WALLACE — Shoshone County commissioners recently decided against an agreement with LEAP Charities concerning a multi-family housing facility in Silverton.  

Paige Olsen, executive director of the Silver Valley Economic Development Corporation, has been working with LEAP on the project and explained the decision to look at Silverton as a potential site for such a building. LEAP is an Idaho-based nonprofit that works toward providing affordable housing. 

“Initially, LEAP had identified the property in Silverton as a preferred location due to its existing infrastructure and cost advantages,” Olsen said. “Without any boots-on-the-ground studies, they looked at the site and thought it was the lowest hanging fruit that would enable them to maximize funding partnerships while minimizing development costs — ultimately leading to more affordable rent structures.”  

The property in question was a 2-acre, county-owned grassy area on the corner of Yellowstone Avenue and Sather Field Road, adjacent to the former U.S. Forest Service building.

The potential agreement was met with some opposition from the community, including on social media, where a post from Silverton resident Patrick Brotherton was widely shared. 

In his post, Brotherton talked about how the field has been used over the years and that he didn’t want to look out the windows of his home and see apartments.

“There are plenty of other places to build apartment buildings in the valley and this place, in my opinion, isn't one of them," he wrote.

The memorandum of understanding by itself would have been little more than a feasibility study to determine whether such a development project would make sense for the proposed property. Ultimately, the commissioners decided to follow the wishes of those who opposed the project. Without the feasibility study, the project goes no further.

Shoshone County planning coordinator Dan Martinsen, who has also been working with LEAP, said he believes there are different opportunities to pursue on other county-owned properties in the Silver Valley. 

“Next week, we will be meeting with LEAP to discuss other properties and their features," he said. "Then we will narrow the field to another property and again ask for MOU support from the BOCC.”  

Olsen said LEAP’s strategy is to base rent on the area median income and stay within 80% of that AMI. Then they consider factors like income and appropriate rent structures to satisfy the needs of the area’s workforce.  

“People get spooked by the term ‘affordable housing’ or ‘income-based housing,'” Olsen said. “We are working with LEAP to help house our local workforce. So, when I refer to the work that we are trying to do with LEAP, I try to explain it as ‘local worker housing’ or ‘attainable housing.’ These units would be affordable to our teachers, CNAs, service industry workers, etc.

"People who do their part to make our community thrive but earn just outside of the housing market bubble," she said.