Powder Light Leasing in Early 2023
Join Waitlist for Employee Housing
Designed for the seasonal workforce, Powder Light offers double-occupancy bedrooms with shared living spaces. *BSCHT will have access to ten apartments, which will accommodate approximately 100 tenants. 

If you're a Big Sky employer interested in Powder Light, please click the POWDER LIGHT WAITLIST button to complete a brief survey.
*BSCHT secured its involvement in Powder Light with BSCHT's access to designated workforce housing water rights. BSCHT made no financial contributions. Lone Mountain Land Company constructed and funded the project. Neither Resort Tax or other public funding sources contributed to Powder Light.
Rental Inventory Needed By Winter
RENT LOCAL. Earn Cash. Make a Difference
The lack of housing impacts the ability of every business in Big Sky to remain staffed.

John Flach, owner of By Word of Mouth restaurant, knows this firsthand as he and his wife Pam are down to nine employees. They need 15. John hopes to find employee housing to not only have the ability to hire, but to also help his current staff "move on from campers, cars, and couches."

Although developing new homes through efforts like RiverView Apartments and MeadowView Condos is critical, building takes years. One immediate solution is RENT LOCAL, which utilizes existing inventory and provides cash to owners who flip their vacation rentals into homes for locals.
RiverView Apartments Ground Breaking
Construction Begins in Fall of 2022
Currently, Big Sky has a 0% long-term rental vacancy rate and except for Big Sky Apartments, no rental complexes exist. The community's lack of apartments, combined with an uptick of owners selling or converting homes into vacation rentals, has destabilized locals' rental inventory.
 
RiverView, a community collaboration between Lone Mountain Land Company, Resort Tax, Big Sky Water & Sewer, and BSCHT, will add 100 apartments and is one solution to balancing the rental market. 

BSCHT will construct 25 of the apartments with its partner Blue Line Development. Because BSCHT earned $6.49 million for the build, renters of these units must meet federal low-income requirements.

Lone Mountain Land Company will construct 75 of the apartments with private funding only and will permanently deed restrict them to maintain affordability. LMLC will also reserve a minimum of 20% of its apartments for local businesses not affiliated with CrossHarbor.
GOOD DEEDS: Helping Local Buyers
Preserving Existing Homes for Residents
Like RENT LOCAL, GOOD DEEDS utilizes existing inventory to create homes for residents.

Unlike RENT LOCAL, which temporarily restricts occupation to create rental housing, GOOD DEEDS requires local occupancy for a life-time and prioritizes funding residents with down payments to purchase homes.

GOOD DEEDS RESTRICTION: one occupant must work a minimum of 30 hours per week for a business located in Big Sky. The occupant can be either the homeowner or a long-term tenant. Short-term rentals are strictly prohibited. 
Before BSCHT became an independent nonprofit, the Chamber hired WSW Consulting to study Big Sky's housing needs and create an action plan. WSW Consulting finished Big Sky's first study in 2018. As market conditions have changed, at least partially due to COVID, WSW Consulting is currently updating this plan.

WSW believes that "Housing your workforce is more than just building homes that they can afford. If done right, it can help invigorate a community, support local businesses, allow families to thrive, and further community economic goals."
The Center Square
"Montana among toughest states for employers hiring workers"

"Only Alaska, Georgia, Kentucky, Vermont, and West Virginia ranked as tougher states for employers hiring workers.

Tanner Avery, communications director for Frontier Institute, a free-market think tank, said business is booming across Montana, but one reason for the lack of workers is the affordable housing shortage."
"AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you."

Help create housing by shopping at smile.amazon.com
  1. Search for Big Sky Community Housing Trust as your charitable organization at smile.amazon.com.
  2. Complete your shopping at smile.amazon.com.
  3. Amazon will automatically donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to BSCHT.
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