Spike in new home construction

The forgotten sounds of hammers

pounding and table saws buzzing could soon be bouncing around

neighborhoods across Whitefish

Signaling the end to a bleak winter,

Whitefish’s Planning and Building Department reports that more than

a dozen permits to put up new homes have passed through the office

in the past two weeks. Planning director David Taylor says the

recession-lambasted department is bustling with anticipation for

the summer ahead.

“We’ve had more activity in the last

two weeks than we had all of last year,” Taylor told the Pilot.

Even better, he said, is that May is

only the beginning of the permit season for the planning

department. The typical peak is in September or October.

“Things are picking up,” Taylor said.

“At least the sky isn’t completely falling out any more.”

The largest builds include a $1.3

million project planned for Iron Horse, a $450,000 home at The

Lakes and a $380,000 home on Grouse Mountain.

Smaller builds are scattered across

town. Bill Kahle has a few spec houses going up on Sawtooth Drive

at O’Brien Bluffs and Rob Pero is building two smaller homes on the

north side of the viaduct, one on Colorado Avenue and another on

Cedar Street. Homes are also planned near State Park Road and on

Denver Street.

“Some people are flipping out

affordable new homes or spec houses,” Taylor said. “The ultra-rich

second homes are going up because building prices are down.”

Local builder Kelsey Bingham of Bear

Mountain Builders agrees. He reports that his company is finishing

up six projects and already has six more in Whitefish lined up for

this year. His clients are taking advantage of the value of land

and lower building costs, he says.

“I’m hearing about a lot of other guys

picking up jobs, too,” Bingham said. “That’s great. I hope there’s

plenty of work to go around.”

Most of Bear Mountain’s projects this

year fall in the higher-end market, with homes above $600,000.

Bingham notes that these large-scale projects are creating jobs and

bringing money to the city. Despite the migration of workers to the

oil fields of North Dakota, he says there’s no shortage is skilled

builders in the valley to call on for work.

“We have some great craftsmen here at

our disposal,” he said. “Our office makes a conscious effort to

keep money in the valley.”

Whether the city’s uptick in new-home

permits is a sign of Whitefish’s building market awakening from a

deep sleep or a blip on the radar is unclear, Taylor says.

“It’s hard to say if this is a trend,”

he said. “A lot depends on people’s ability to get loans.”

Glacier Bank branch president Lin Akey

says lending in the past few years has been good.

“The Whitefish area has been extremely

robust as compared to other places,” Akey said. “We are optimistic

about turning the tide.”

Both Akey, Taylor and Bingham note that

a lot of the activity is from north of the border.

“The Canadians are coming down and

finding good value,” Bingham said. “That’s really helping.”