An effort to acquire 13 acres in the Midtown district cleared its first hurdle on Thursday when the Missoula Redevelopment Agency's (MRA) Board of Commissioners agreed to purchase the property using available funding from Urban Renewal District III.
The Missoula Economic Partnership has negotiated a below-market purchase price of $5.8 million for the property.
Along with its purchase approval, the board recommends that the City Council accept ownership of the property in November and permit the mayor to sign closing documents in December.
“The property has been vacant for well over 20 years,” said MRA member Annette Marchessault. “It's a key piece of property in Midtown.”
While the parcel has sat vacant for decades, a study by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in 2003 recommended a number of potential plans. In 2015, Southgate Mall Associates (SMA) also looked at developing a portion of the property.
But those redevelopment efforts never panned out, partially given the property's lack of infrastructure.
Yet other projects intended to transform the area have moved forward, including the completion of Mary Avenue, which provided an east-west connection between Brooks and Reserve streets using an easement provided by SMA nearly a decade ago.
With one connection made, the city is also looking to complete a north-south connector between South Avenue and Brooks Street. The road would cross the 13-acre parcel and include an eventual grid-pattern after the city takes ownership and prepares the site for redevelopment.
“The city with MRA has been slowly trying to put in place the pieces that were envisioned in the ULI study in 2003, which called for an east-west connection and also envisioned a north-south connection,” said Marchesseault. “That's not in place, but with the construction of Mary Avenue and the roundabout, a lot of the pieces are now in place.”
With MRA's agreement to purchase the property, the City Council will be asked to officially accept the property and permit Mayor Andrea Davis to sign the closing documents.
Council will consider the move in November and the city could take ownership in December.
That would launch an effort to begin master planning the property and seek one or more development partners to carry out the plan. Davis said that with the help of the Missoula Economic Partnership, a number of potential partners have already expressed interest.
“There's a lot of key interest in this parcel. There are several private parties already interested in this location, and Providence St. Patrick Hospital has already located their facility adjacent to this,” said Davis. “It's a large investment by taxpayers and the city to make this purchase, but we'll turn this around into a catalytic opportunity.”
While Urban Renewal District III has the reserves to allow MRA to purchase the property with existing revenue, funding the needed infrastructure will require additional funding.
Ellen Buchanan, director of MRA, said that could take a number of forms ranging from bonding to grants.
“This district has a great deal of bonding capacity,” Buchanan said. “There are still steps to go through. But there's high interest in this. It's a key location. The Midtown Master Plan recognized that strongly. We're going to try to move forward as quickly as we can.”
Once the infrastructure is in place, the city would seek one or more private developers to carry out whatever plan is formalized through a public process. But early proposals include a “unique” mixed-use development with housing, retail, parks and plazas, and a possible transit station.
The latter would tie into plans to launch a bus-rapid transit line on Brooks Street connecting to downtown.
“When we're looking for a development partner with experience, we're not necessarily looking for a project,” said city CAO Dale Bickell. “We're looking for a partner that's fully aligned with what we want to do. We want someone who isn't going to just build housing, but build the kind of housing we want.”
Members of MRA's board said buying and redeveloping the property in partnership with the private sector will serve as an economic boon for Midtown, and help realize portions of the Midtown Master Plan.
“When this goes, it will be a jolt to Midtown,” said board member Tasha Jones. “The debate around tax increment is often 'why,' but the 'why' is so that we have a seat at the table. To say we want this area to be redeveloped in line with our goals and culture, needs and wants as a community, is a shining example of how important tax increment is to our community.”
