PC contracted with LEAP Housing in October of 2024 to conduct a feasibility for a prospective 48-unit development under consideration in Lava Hot Springs, which would be called Portneuf Springs. More specifically, this project assesses the absorption potential for the units considering affordability and availability factors within the local market. The development would be primarily focused on bringing affordable housing to the Lava Hot Springs. Our findings suggest that while Portneuf Springs would serve some of existing community members, the population of Lava Hot Springs is too small to fill the current planned development. This means that many units could eventually be allocated to members outside the primary community, including places such as Soda Springs and Bancroft. All factors considered, PC believes that LEAP will have little challenge selling up to 27 units, while the remaining units would not be sold at the same pace and possibly not for the same price. Finally, the PC team also conducted a sensitivity analysis to try and gauge the range of potential buyers in conservative and optimistic scenarios, which found that the range lies between 13 to 68 buyers.
