MISSOULA — Residents in a growing Northside neighborhood will gain a new park under an agreement approved Monday night to allocate funding from the Open Space Bond to acquire the property.
The city will purchase the 5-acre parcel from the Resurrection Cemetery Association for roughly $2.1 million. Funding includes roughly $1.7 million from the Missoula Redevelopment Agency and $530,000 from the bond.
While tapping into the bond draws down its balance, members of City Council deemed park space as a good use of funding.
“I think the neighborhood will be greatly served by this larger green space,” said council member Jennifer Savage.
The new park will replace the existing White Pine Park on Scott Street. A portion of that parcel has been lost due to street extensions associated with a nearby housing development. The city plans to sell what's left of the park to help develop the new park.
MRA's funding contribution also represents contingency funding set aside to build the infrastructure associated with the new housing development. Once the new park opens, it will provide open space in a neighborhood that's deficient in parkland.
“We had some other interest for different types of development,” said Jim Carney with the Resurrection Cemetery Association. “But the Catholic Church and the cemetery are excited about it becoming a park. We feel it's the best use of that land and would serve the maximum benefit to the community.”
Zack Covington, the open space program manager for the city, said population growth in the Scott Street area prompted the search for parkland. Two new housing developments in the area have increased the area's population by an estimated 1,500 residents.
Covington said the city's park standards call for 2.5 acres of parks per 1,000 residents. The area currently has just 1.2 acres per 1,000 residents, and the new park would increase that to 1.4 acres.
“This neighborhood needs better park space for local residents,” said Covington. “The city has been working with the Resurrection Cemetery Association for a number of years. They've been great partners helping us look at the possibility of increasing parkland in these neighborhoods.”
