{"id":22113,"date":"2025-03-05T01:45:34","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T08:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=22113"},"modified":"2025-03-03T14:16:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T21:16:09","slug":"arch-ellsworth-inn-project-nears-completion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/05\/arch-ellsworth-inn-project-nears-completion\/","title":{"rendered":"ARCH Ellsworth Inn Project Nears Completion"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u2014the historic Ellsworth Inn.<\/p>\n

True Community Character<\/b><\/p>\n

Michelle Griffith, executive director of ARCH, has a poignant story.<\/p>\n

In a beautiful form of poetic irony and course correction, Griffith began her stay in Sun Valley with a vacation home. \u201cWe were part of the problem,\u201d Griffith laughs. She and her husband Harry Griffith eventually moved here in 2009, wondering, \u201cHow do people live here?\u201d And, after answering an advertisement in the local paper, with no housing experience, Griffith joined ARCH.<\/p>\n

\u201cI one-hundred-percent stumbled into this. I was early, and since then, ARCH has grown, steadily, largely because we\u2019ve had an amazingly supportive board and some remarkably generous members of the community who\u2019ve helped us fund our development program.\u201d<\/p>\n

ARCH likely needs little introduction as the torch-bearers for Blaine County community action\u2014finding, building or renovating properties specifically to house low-income and workforce community members.<\/p>\n

The Ellsworth Inn is now an ARCH success. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat 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,\u201dSure! We want to!\u201d<\/p>\n

Cultural Heritage<\/b><\/p>\n

The Ellsworth Inn\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s famed community while retaining its historic architectural charm and period decor.<\/p>\n

ARCH has indeed kept the exterior preserved in full while renovating the interior, as Griffith explains. \u201cWe 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.\u201d But that\u2019s only the beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhase 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beneficence<\/b><\/p>\n

How does ARCH find these properties to develop? Is there a list of potential spots that might hit the market? It\u2019s a bit of a blend between community-minded benefactors, luck and research.<\/p>\n

Griffith exclaims, \u201cFor 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\u2019t have even been looking at that property. It was just an unbelievably generous gift that will allow us to build some housing in Ketchum.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Soon is Now?<\/b><\/p>\n

So when will these homes be available? \u201cThe nice thing about doing single-family housing is you can make them available as they\u2019re built. So it\u2019ll be a rolling opportunity for folks to get houses. And these one-bedroom houses that we\u2019ve completed will be available May 1st.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Now\u2019 is when you realize you need a new place\u2014for 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.<\/p>\n

Griffith extolls, \u201cAnybody who\u2019s interested in a one-bedroom apartment should contact us now and get on the waiting list. If you don\u2019t own your home, or if you\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no harm in waiting on the list. If your name comes to the top and you don\u2019t 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, \u2018my landlord is selling the house, I need to be out in a month,\u2019 it\u2019ll be hard for us to shift that fast to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apply Now<\/b><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

ARCH\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Visit ARCH\u2019s website and get on the list by applying at archbc.org\/apply\/ or email ben@archbc.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2014the historic Ellsworth Inn. True Community Character Michelle Griffith, executive director of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22114,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,72,78,82,18,20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22113","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-blaine-county","8":"category-community","9":"category-hailey","10":"category-housing","11":"category-news","12":"category-nonprofit"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22113"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22115,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22113\/revisions\/22115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}