Agencies break ground on first

The project includes six two-bedroom, two-bathroom homes and two one-bedroom, one-bathroom homes, each approximately 850 square feet in size.

This story was updated with additional information and context on June 6.

Update: This story was updated with additional information and context on June 6.

The development partners of an eight-unit housing project for Wood River Valley first responders have commenced construction and anticipate the project will be completed by the end of the year.

Sun Valley City Administrator Jim Keating announced the news in a project update to the Sun Valley City Council and Mayor Peter Hendricks on Thursday, June 1. Keating gave the update before council members voted 4-0 to disburse $984,000 to pay for the second of two orders for four prefabricated homes to be installed at a site immediately south of the Greenhorn Fire Station in the mid-valley, adjacent to state Highway 75.

Four units had already been ordered from Utah-based manufacturer Zip Kit Homes, through Idaho Falls-based Mountain Valley Prefab. The developers of the project—the city of Sun Valley and the North Blaine County Fire District—expect the first four units to be assembled and installed by the end of September, Keating said. The second set of four units is expected to be installed by late December.

Infrastructure work at the site has already started. Work on site preparation, foundations and utility connections is planned to continue into the fall, with the first units being assembled in September.

The project includes six two-bedroom, two-bathroom homes and two one-bedroom, one-bathroom homes, each approximately 850 square feet in size. The final phase of the project—planned for next spring—calls for installation of an eight-bay detached garage structure.

The total cost of approximately $3.2 million is being funded through the city, the district, federal American Rescue Plan Act funds from Blaine County, and private contributions. The district and its partners have raised about $2.2 million, the district stated in a June 1 news release, including $1 million in private philanthropy and $350,000 each from the North Blaine County Fire District, the city and Blaine County. The balance is being funded through an "appropriation lease"—a type of investment financing—that the partners plan to raise additional money for and pay back as soon as possible, Keating said Monday.

The city of Sun Valley is acting to allocate the funds for the project. The city manages the North Blaine County Fire District—formerly the Ketchum Rural Fire Protection District—through a contract established in 2019.

The land is being leased to the district and the city by the Idaho Transportation Department.

Pursuant to results of a May ballot initiative, the city on July 1 will start collecting funds from a new 0.5% local-option tax designated to support affordable-housing projects.

The city and the North Blaine County Fire District—which provides fire protection and emergency services to unincorporated Blaine County from the mid-valley to its northern border—have planned a formal ground-breaking ceremony at the project site at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 7.

"Moving the dirt demonstrates that this new housing is going to be here soon," said Jed Gray, chairman of the North Blaine County Fire District. "Having housing for first responders supports the district's mission of providing 24-hour protection at the highest level of public safety services for our community and visitors."

Priority to live in the units will be given to full-time and volunteer firefighters contracted with the North Blaine County Fire District and the city of Sun Valley, the district stated. Firefighters and paramedics from other jurisdictions will be considered as space is available, the district stated, the same policy for the six existing units it oversees at the Greenhorn Fire Station.

Prefab units purchased from Utah-based Zip Kit homes will be placed on the Greenhorn site this year.

In its June 1 news release, the district reiterated the need for housing for first responders.

"The valley's housing crisis has put quick emergency response times at risk by forcing firefighters and paramedics to seek affordable housing further and further to the south," it stated. "The ability to hire and retain qualified professionals has also been severely compromised by the lack of viable options for stable and affordable housing."

Ricky Williams, the district's 2022 "Firefighter of the Year," took a significant pay cut from a previous job to move back to the Wood River Valley, where he grew up, the district stated. The move was enabled by Williams being able to secure on-site housing at the Greenhorn Fire Station, the district stated.

Gray said the district will continue its fundraising efforts to pay for the units—being done through the Spur Community Foundation—"in order to ensure that the cost of renting them is affordable for our first responders." 

[email protected]

"Moving the dirt demonstrates that this new housing is going to be here soon."

Jed Gray

Chairman, North Blaine County Fire District

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