MISSOULA — A local developer plans to rid an underutilized property of buried debris and construct a 22-unit apartment complex off Russell Street, making it fully electric with no natural gas.
Adam Hertz and G&K Investment sought and received $107,000 in tax increment from the Missoula Redevelopment Agency last week, including $82,000 for deconstruction and site prep, and $17,000 to excavate buried debris.
The funding also includes $6,000 for landscaping in the public right-of-way. The project's total cost stands at $4.7 million.
“The new annual tax revenue is expected to be $35,000 a year,” said MRA project manager Michael Hicks. “That will repay the TIF investment in roughly three years.”
The house on the property, located at 350 Washburn Street, is vacant and abandoned and has no current resident.
The property used to be owned by a metal worker and portions of the site have turned up landfill debris during soil testing.
“It looks like he just buried scrap metal throughout the property. It's nothing hazardous. Just debris that needs to be removed,” said Hertz.
The new three-story building will include 22 apartments ranging from roughly 550 square feet to 1,100 square feet. Rent is expected to range from $1,300 to $2,300 a month.
Hertz said a building permit has been filed.
“We're excited to see this come to fruition,” he said. “We don't have a building permit yet, but it's expected this summer. We'll start deconstruction before that building permit is received.”
