BCSD Approves Lease Agreements for Employee Housing

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Blaine County School District

The Blaine County School District Board of Trustees has approved three ground lease and development agreements in collaboration with the ARCH Community Housing Trust to build affordable workforce housing for district teachers and staff. Through the effort, the district will provide the land for development, and ARCH will be responsible for raising money for designing, developing, constructing, managing, and maintaining the housing at a flexible and affordable price point. 

Development plans will move forward at the district’s Bullion Street, Croy Street, and McKercher properties. 

“We have approved a public-private partnership with an innovative community partner, which is a not-for-profit entity without the demands of a return on investment to obtain financing for development capital,” said Dan Turner, board trustee. “This will allow for enormous flexibility in the pricing of rental units to our workforce, opening the door for an inventive income-based rental model.” 

The lack of affordable workforce housing and its impact on teachers and staff has been an area of focus for the board over the past couple years. In 2021, the board approved a $1 million emergency employee housing relief fund to help meet the needs of teachers and staff dealing with rising housing expenses. A fundraising event in summer 2022 netted close to $900,000 to support the first phase of this affordable workforce housing development. 

The board has delegated certain oversight and managerial authority of the three projects to BCSD Superintendent Jim Foudy, who has been authorized to serve as the “Landlord’s Liaison” on behalf of the district. 

Since 2005, the ARCH Community Housing Trust has developed safe, permanently affordable workforce housing in Blaine County. ARCH achieves this vision through purchasing, restoring, and building properties to provide housing for local teachers, police officers, hospital technicians, firefighters, nurses, and others who serve the community.