Developers withdraw Second Street proposal

The developers of a controversial large-scale apartment and condo project proposed for East Second Street have pulled their application with the city.  

Whitefish City Council was scheduled to discuss the proposed 2nd Street Residences at its meeting Tuesday, Sept. 3. However, the applicant this week asked to withdraw their application and rework it, according to the city planning department.

Developers Will MacDonald and Sean Averill of Community Infill Partners are planning to construct 143 housing units on 24 acres of open land east of Cow Creek.

After hearing more than three hours of public comment on the proposal, council Aug. 19 voted 5-1 to table the proposal and continue discussion at their next meeting.

A zoning change and planned unit development overlay had been requested for the project. The 2nd Street Residences would include 92 apartment units, 36 condominiums and 15 accessory apartments. Single-family residences for purchase would front East Second Street, while rental units would be clustered in pods in the center.

The project has been scaled down numerous times since it was first presented to the public this spring as the 2nd Street Apartments. The original plan called for 174 housing units in large multi-plex buildings, the maximum density allowed.

Neighbors of the project continue to claim it’s too dense for the area and raise concerns about the increase in traffic they say the development will create.

Developers, however, say the project will provide affordable housing for the city.