City eyes redevelopment of Midtown Missoula parcel, removal from Superfund status

MISSOULA — A Midtown Missoula parcel's days as a Superfund site could come to an end early next year once the Montana Department of Environmental Quality signs off on the city's voluntary cleanup efforts.

The City Council this week adopted restrictive covenants for MRL Park, located off South Avenue near Southgate Mall.

The action prevents any development on the 4-acre parcel in perpetuity while allowing for residential development on the adjoining 7 acres.

The city purchased the 11-acre parcel from Montana Rail Link in 2017 and invested roughly $650,000 into environmental work, with most of the funding coming from the EPA's Brownfields program.

Work on the 4-acre parcel included the removal of led-contaminated soil and cleared the way for the property's redevelopment into a popular neighborhood park in 2019.

Tyler Walls, the city's Brownfields program specialist, said the city received another round of EPA funding in 2020 to conduct voluntary cleanup on the adjoining 7-acre parcel, which currently houses the Johnson Street shelter.

The Missoula Redevelopment Agency also provided funding.

“The Brownfields program provides the confidence in making sure that properties that sit idle due to environmental concerns are now safe and ready for use or redevelopment,” said Walls. “The goal of the EPA grant is to delist the property as a state Superfund facility and prepare the property for redevelopment.”

Walls said work on the northern parcel was completed this year and included the removal of 50 cubic yards of soil contaminated with arsenic. It also included the closing of three wells.

To remove the property from listing as a Superfund site, the city must now record “institutional controls” and file for delisting through the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. The restrictive covenants approved this week mark a step in that direction.

“That restricts the park to recreational use and would prohibit residential development,” said Walls. “The covenants apply in perpetuity. It also allows reuse of the northern portion, which would include redevelopment.”

The city purchased the property with the intent to redevelop it and bolster the Midtown neighborhood. But when the pandemic hit, the city opened a warehouse on the northern parcel as an emergency winter shelter for the homeless.

Last year, the city made the shelter a year-round facility, angering much of the neighborhood. In response, City Council adopted a resolution directing city staff to begin master planning the 7-acre property for redevelopment and set a goal to close the shelter by the end of 2026.

Once the property is delisted as a Superfund site, redevelopment could occur.

“It has been completely cleaned,” said Walls. “All the cleanup measures have taken place and it's ready for residential development on the northern end.”