MISSOULA — With backing from area neighbors, economic leaders and the development community, the Missoula City Council on Monday night gave final approval to acquire a Midtown parcel for redevelopment into a new neighborhood.
The vote finalizes a year-long effort to secure the 13-acre property located near Southgate Mall. The Missoula Redevelopment Agency will complete the $5.8 million purchase, and the mayor will close on the acquisition next month.
“We have an opportunity to control a critical piece of property in the heart of Missoula, for the good of Missoula and for the good of the neighborhood,” said council member Amber Sherrill. “It builds the tax base and will be a good thing for that neighborhood. This investment is a no-brainer.”
The property has sat vacant for an estimated 40 years and while a number of development proposals have trickled out, none of them have occurred, largely given the area's lack of infrastructure.
A number of plans also identified the property for its redevelopment potential. The latest Midtown Master Plan envisions the site as a new community hub, one suited for multi-story housing, commercial spaces and employment opportunities.
“There's enough acreage here that we can do mixed housing, we can do missing-middle housing,” said MRA Director Ellen Buchanan. “You can create an entire neighborhood there with different scale buildings and different types of housing that address different income groups.”
The property represents a collection of parcels owned by the Beech family and Southgate Mall Associates. The Missoula Economic Partnership negotiated a below-market purchase price with the owners earlier this year.
The property as a whole already includes platted right-of-ways for streets and alleys, though they've never been developed. It also includes a ditch easement that carries water during the irrigation season.
The ditch and the open space around it have become a prized asset for the surrounding neighborhood and has come to serve as a defacto park. Residents have asked the city to maintain the open space – a request that will likely be included in a future master plan.
“The only way we can guarantee any of that is by the city owning it,” said council member Gwen Jones. “This is an opportunity to have raw land in the middle of town and do something that's really reflective of what the neighbors want, what the city needs, and be very intentional about it.”
The property also presents an opportunity to expand the street grid and create connections that don't exist. Future redevelopment is expected to create a new north-south connector extending from South Avenue to the roundabout behind the mall, and on to Brooks Street.
Some proposals have also suggested a new transit station on the property to support a future bus-rapid transit system on Brooks Street. Dense redevelopment of the property would help sustain the transit line.
“This is a rare time we get to be proactive,” said council member Sierra Farmer. “We hear a lot of frustration from folks who feel like we don't bring in infrastructure until well after it's needed. This is a time when we can bring the infrastructure in before it's too late. I think this is a real smart investment.”
The Missoula Redevelopment Agency said the master planning process will likely begin early next year once the city closes on the purchase. While Monday night's vote seals the deal, not all were in favor of it.
Council members Sandra Vasecka and Bob Campbell voted in opposition.
"I have several misgivings about this purchase,” said Campbell. “I feel like I have to sign a blank check to see how this will all unfold. The city's chronic addiction to land banking only drives up the cost of land to other developers, further exacerbating the housing crisis that we're in.”
