BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL
Blaine Manor Apartments is a noteworthy symbol for community devotion. A sparkling new complex comprised of buildings dedicated to seniors and families of low income — in other words, the people who have and do make the Valley’s wheels turn — shines in splendor with full occupancy. As it stands, Blaine Manor Apartments has been open for nearly two years and with a happy set of residents and a mega-waiting list, things are running joyous and smoothly.
Blaine Manor History
The first incarnation of Blaine Manor was as a nursing home. The structure was county-owned and served the elderly by providing long-term care. As a huge part of the community, the essential services they offered helped seniors live comfortably and gracefully in the community they helped build.
Over the years the normal wear and tear of a housing facility took its toll and the structure needed substantial maintenance and upgrades. The county could no longer afford to keep it running and so the decision was made to funnel remaining resources elsewhere and shutter the home. But, the residents had to go somewhere!
The county officially closed Blaine Manor in 2013.
Affordable, Regional Community Housing (ARCH)
ARCH Community Housing Trust has been dedicated to finding, developing and preserving low- to moderate-income housing since its inception as a nonprofit in 2006. It began by acquiring older properties to create affordable rental units for local residents. ARCH partners with both the public sector and city governments like Hailey, Ketchum and Bellevue — local banks and financial Institutions, corporate donors, foundations and philanthropic organizations. ARCH is absolutely embedded and dedicated to the community in Blaine County and is renowned for its community-centric heroes who build much-needed infrastructure for the low- to moderate-income residents of the Valley.
ARCH acquired Blaine Manor in 2013 after the nursing home closed. Plans and renovations took place up until the COVID-19 pandemic when red tape and obfuscation of development mired the entire world in confusion. Two years ago, after the legal smoke and mirrors began to evaporate, Blaine Manor resurfaced, via the leadership at ARCH, as a low-income rental space, much to the delight of residents and families.
One-Woman Show
Amy Hinton has been running Blaine Manor from the conception of its new incarnation. For over a year and a half she flew solo, until a few months ago when Hinton was able to employ a part-time assistant to help run the facilities. While they do not currently have a full-time maintenance person, it isn’t entirely needed for such a new building. They outsource maintenance and landscaping to outfits who visit every few weeks from Boise or Twin Falls. As a new structure, things are going well.
Hinton shines in her role and only wishes they could house more. “I’d love to have 200 more apartments to house the need in this Valley but it’s gone well, it’s beautiful here and a great situation for everyone…” Amy speaks gently with joy in a buoyant tone of service and satisfaction. Speaking of the waiting list, “It’s been a big process and if space and finances were not an issue, we could easily have 200-300 more rooms and house more people.”
Hinton currently runs 200 rooms set up as two primary sets of buildings where each structure has 30 apartments. One set they refer to as the Family Building for, you guessed it, families, and the Senior Building caters to those 55 and over. The Family Building is for anyone; however, they do go by occupancy and prioritize households with two persons or more.
“There’s not been a lot of turnover. We were full right away and people are really settled in and happy here. The Senior Building has some good amenities… you know, there’s a community building and a library… and there’s a playground for the Family Building.”
“We did do a rent increase last year. It was less than 10%. Unfortunately, rent increase is just part of the game. But it is very manageable. I have a broad range of different folks.”
A Community of Care
Blaine Manor is functioning well and hats off to ARCH for making it happen. The locals are very happy and, as mentioned, the waiting list is long. Perhaps the one thing that could make life easier would be if visitors to the sports amenities nearby would respect the parking of the people who actually live at Blaine Manor. The parking spots are literally the residents’ driveways where they park to go into their home, carry in groceries and come and go to play outside with their children.
“Really, the only kink I have here is the parking situation,” said Hiton. “ We’re by the ice rink, baseball and soccer field here so we have a lot of overflow, just people parking in our parking lot. I have to kick people out of here constantly and I even tow some sometimes, which I super hate doing, but I have to advocate for my tenants. We have signs up and the ice rink has even published a notice in the paper for parking but, I don’t know why, sometimes people just don’t care.” As with any city structure, the melding of mindsets, as far as personal responsibility for way of life, can be a hurdle to overcome. Optimistically, as time goes on, people will begin to respect others and learn to find appropriate parking.
With happy tenants, a caring community and dextrous management, the boon to the Valley is that Blaine Manor thrives for all involved. You can even be put on the waiting list if you call. Amy Hinton can be reached by phone at (208) 519-8164 or via email at blainemanor@thehousingcompany.org.