BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL
In the center of Hailey, local heroes Advocates for Real Community Housing (ARCH), in collaboration with the City of Sun Valley and with assistance from the City of Hailey, have managed to preserve and improve yet another structure for workforce housing—the historic Ellsworth Inn.
True Community Character
Michelle Griffith, executive director of ARCH, has a poignant story.
In a beautiful form of poetic irony and course correction, Griffith began her stay in Sun Valley with a vacation home. “We were part of the problem,” Griffith laughs. She and her husband Harry Griffith eventually moved here in 2009, wondering, “How do people live here?” And, after answering an advertisement in the local paper, with no housing experience, Griffith joined ARCH.
“I one-hundred-percent stumbled into this. I was early, and since then, ARCH has grown, steadily, largely because we’ve had an amazingly supportive board and some remarkably generous members of the community who’ve helped us fund our development program.”
ARCH likely needs little introduction as the torch-bearers for Blaine County community action—finding, building or renovating properties specifically to house low-income and workforce community members.
The Ellsworth Inn is now an ARCH success. “The city of Hailey saw that the property was for sale and they were concerned, because of its amazing central location, that it would attract high-end market rate development that would raze the historic property and just build high-value market rate homes.”
“What they wanted to do as a city was to preserve the historical property and also ensure that whatever was built there would serve the workforce. They needed a funding partner and approached the City of Sun Valley, who said,”Sure! We want to!”
Cultural Heritage
The Ellsworth Inn’s history dates to the early 20th century when Hailey was an agrarian mining town. Established for simple accommodation, a safe resting point and a warm meal, The Ellsworth Inn was modest. A hotspot for celebrations, town meetings, and cultural events, The Ellsworth Inn tells a story of Hailey and Sun Valley.
As growing tourism in Blaine County, with the changing needs of new clientele, demanded modern amenities, The Ellsworth went through several interior renovations and expansions. Careful integration of these updates served to preserve the cultural heritage of Hailey and tell the story of this Valley’s famed community while retaining its historic architectural charm and period decor.
ARCH has indeed kept the exterior preserved in full while renovating the interior, as Griffith explains. “We took the old inn, 11 hotel rooms, and redeveloped it into six one-bedroom apartments. Each apartment has its own living, dining, kitchen, separate bedroom and bathroom, with washer-dryer hookups for each unit.” But that’s only the beginning.
“Phase two, which we are fundraising for now, is the new construction. There will be 10 three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath, single-family detached houses and one duplex where each side of the duplex has four bedrooms constructed over the next two years.”
Beneficence
How does ARCH find these properties to develop? Is there a list of potential spots that might hit the market? It’s a bit of a blend between community-minded benefactors, luck and research.
Griffith exclaims, “For as much as we try to be strategic about it, things just happen. For example, we were the beneficiaries of a very, very generous gift of two side-by-side lots in Ketchum on Leadville Avene. The donor gave us the property. We wouldn’t have even been looking at that property. It was just an unbelievably generous gift that will allow us to build some housing in Ketchum.”
How Soon is Now?
So when will these homes be available? “The nice thing about doing single-family housing is you can make them available as they’re built. So it’ll be a rolling opportunity for folks to get houses. And these one-bedroom houses that we’ve completed will be available May 1st.”
‘Now’ is when you realize you need a new place—for whatever reason. Key to ARCH and other Blaine County housing initiatives is that you get on the list in advance. The demand is high and prerequisites are crucial.
Griffith extolls, “Anybody who’s interested in a one-bedroom apartment should contact us now and get on the waiting list. If you don’t own your home, or if you’re not renting from a family member or a trusted friend, you should assume that you could find yourself in need of a house and get on our waiting list.
“There’s no harm in waiting on the list. If your name comes to the top and you don’t need a house at that moment, you could stay on the list and decline the house. But if you call us and say, you know, ‘my landlord is selling the house, I need to be out in a month,’ it’ll be hard for us to shift that fast to help you.”
Apply Now
The key to finding a home through ARCH is their waiting list. Remember that people sign up for the list but may decline based on any number of circumstances. Griffith emphasizes that the only way in is through.
ARCH’s ongoing success in recognizing the needs of the workforce of the Valley is phenomenal and should you know of a spot or need a home, contact them now.
Visit ARCH’s website and get on the list by applying at archbc.org/apply/ or email ben@archbc.org.
