BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Sun Valley City Council has authorized Mayor Peter Hendricks to purchase the three-story, 4,800-square-foot Ellsworth Inn in Hailey for $2.3 million.

The inn and its land could provide up to 20 affordable workforce housing units for city employees and other valley workers.

The transaction was proposed by Hailey officials after they learned the property was for sale.

The inn was built in the early 1900s and is currently being operated as a bed and breakfast. It is not on the National Register of Historic Buildings but is considered of historic importance to the city of Hailey.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring a legacy property into public hands,” said Hailey Mayor Martha Burke. “Hailey intends to work enthusiastically and cooperatively with Sun Valley on a master plan which will serve our mutual goals of housing for our workforce.”

Hendricks, who had asked the community to offer proposals for workforce housing, concurred: “It is paramount that permanent housing be developed as this is the critical path towards solving a countywide problem.”

Sun Valley intends to explore leasing the facility to a single employer or immediate workforce housing. Burke said she intends to ask the Hailey City Council for financial commitment from its housing fund to participate in the necessary planning.