MISSOULA — Six years have passed since the University of Montana met with city and county leaders to discuss the makings of an innovation campus — a place to serve as a hub of research across a range of studies.
The effort remains alive, according to project partners, and it now includes architectural renderings of what a “Missoula Innovation District” might look like next to Missoula College and the Montana Technology Enterprise Center (MonTEC) off Broadway.
The firm Charlap Hyman & Herrero described the campus as a place to “catalyze economic growth as a live/work hub for business development and technological innovation."
“As with every development project, need must align with funding and timing,” said Brigita Miranda-Freer, who oversees MonTec and serves as executive director of the Montana World Trade Center.
Back in 2018, the University of Montana met with city and county leaders to discuss a technology corridor within Missoula. At the time, UM described the vision as a “hub of research in two areas of strength at UM – biotech and ecology – with space devoted to businesses working in those fields.”
MonTec, situated next to Missoula College, currently plays that role, serving as a hub for startup tech firms including Inimmune, a biotech company working on various medical treatments.
But the facility is crowded and the university, along with other economic leaders in Missoula, look to expand MonTec into a full-fledged campus. In 2021, MonTec began seeking proposals from developers interested in construction of new facilities on the property.
While the effort has been relatively quiet, Miranda-Freer said the project remains alive, though timing and funding haven't yet aligned.
“While we don't yet have alignment of all three of those elements, we 100% continue to work on the project to get it to the point where we can have an iconic gateway to the city,” Miranda-Freer told the Missoula Current. “(One that) speaks to our place in the global community, fosters innovation, and helps create a sustainable economic development pathway.”
According to Charlap Hyman & Herrero, the MonTec location currently serves as an under-utilized property that is “uniquely positioned” between the university and the downtown district.
With funding in place to improve the Highway 200 corridor from MonTec to East Missoula, the Innovation Campus could also take advantage of transit while providing other amenities within the evolving corner of Missoula.
“Learning from Missoula's historic timber and mining industries to realize socially and ecologically sustainable urban development, the buildings are framed with mass timber … connecting the mix of programs on the upper floors of each building with parking, retail, and dining establishments at street level,” the firm said in its description of the project.
The Montana Innovation Corridor Gateway marks a partnership with UM, MonTec, Missoula College and the Montana World Trade Center. While the effort remains in flux, Miranda-Freer said the project's partners remain optimistic.
'It would be cool when all the elements finally align and we can go vertical with this effort,” she said.
