Old Mill housing development underway

OLDTOWN — Work is proceeding on the first home constructed in the Old Mill housing development, which will eventually have more than 500 homes built in multiple phases, according to Dale Rainey, the real estate broker on the Old Mill project. Work on the first home started in June.

“We think it will be completed right after the first of the year,” Rainey said. Spartan Construction is the general contractor for the home.

Rainey said the plan is for 552 units to be built on the 180-acre property over the next 10–15 years. The property is in Oldtown, along the Pend Oreille River near Rotary Park.

Rainey said there won’t be many homes constructed before they’re purchased.

“We’re not going to build a bunch of ‘spec’ homes,” he said.

There are several properties advertised as available on the oldmillid.com website, priced from $1.4 million to $2.04 million. A townhouse on the site is listed as sold.

Rainey says the plan is to have 5% of the homes handled by the Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance, a Hayden-based non-profit whose mission is to develop and preserve housing that local workers can afford.

At a 2023 Oldtown City Council meeting on the project, PAHA’s then-interim executive director Maggie Lyons said people would have to meet income qualifications to purchase one of the PAHA homes, about 80% to 100% of the area’s median income. The home would have to be a primary residence, and a maximum resale price would be built into the deed, keeping the unit affordable while allowing the homeowner to build equity.

Prices haven’t been set yet on later stages of the development, Rainey said. In addition to the million- dollar homes, there would be a number of track-like homes built off the river.

Steve and Jill Linton are the owners of the site now being developed into Old Mill, according to the Old Mill website. Steve Linton, a third-generation resident of the area, grew up in the forest products industry and once hauled logs to the same mill he and his wife would later own and operate.

The Lintons own Tri-Pro Cedar Products. The couple wanted to transform the mill site into a “vibrant” community. Partnering with architect Glen Lanker, they are bringing Old Mill to life as a traditional neighborhood development, according to the website.

A design on the Old Mill website shows a community building, a “tot lot” and two docks with boat slips, along with lots for 21 homes.

The bigger Old Mill master plan and phase one site plan on the website includes a boutique hotel and village center, along with 76 acres of green space.

It lists 268 single-family detached residential units,179 single-family attached residential units, 33 multifamily mansion apartments and 72 village center loft apartments.

Work is well underway on the first home built in the Old Mill development in Oldtown. The Selkirk, a 2,578-square-foot, two-story, four-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom home, is advertised for sale at $1.73 million.

MINER PHOTO|DON GRONNING