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Whitefish tiny home development on the rise

Posted at 10:50 AM, Jul 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-19 12:50:13-04

WHITEFISH – Whitefish is known for its lavish and beautiful big homes.

But now, living large doesn’t need a lot of space thanks to a new tiny home development that’s taking off on Nelson Lane.

Garth Boksich — who has been a realtor for the past 15 years — has seen firsthand how big the demand for rental properties has been in Whitefish.

Boksich told MTN News his team set out to build the best innovative new condos with the smallest footprint. Every inch of the three homes is put to good use and no space is wasted.

“What I like to say is these buildings are tiny homes on steroids. So we’ve got plenty of space, that might not be available in a true tiny home that is 300 or 400 square feet,” Boksich said.

“[We’re] utilizing every square foot we can so that there are no cavities and walls that aren’t used. There aren’t any hallways that aren’t used for functional purposes,” he explained.

Seasoned contractor Michael Barbieri said the tiny home style of the building came with its challenges — for example, there was no room to put a staircase.

He quickly came up with a solution and found a unique set of collapsible stairs.

“We were able to get some of the first ones in America basically here. And they just really are a great solution to the space,” Barbiere said. “We just didn’t have the room for traditional stair set so, the fact that they fold up and get out of the way is pretty amazing.”

The three homes are all approximately 800 square feet and will set a buyer back anywhere from $300,000 to $400,000, but are available as vacation rentals.

Boksich added his team will build new Whitefish affordable housing with this same minimalistic concept.

-Reported by Maren Siu/MTN News