BIG SKY — It's no secret that some Montanans are struggling to afford housing—but what about in resort mountain towns like Big Sky, where the workforce needs to live?
"So, honestly, I don't think there is anything affordable," says Big Sky cleaning business owner William Anaya.
He also says finding housing for his employees is a problem that weighs heavily on him.
"When I ask people if they want to work for me, they will say, 'Oh yeah, sure, do you have housing?' I have friends in Bozeman, and they are like, 'I will work for you, give me housing up there.' It's like, how? It is so hard to get housing here; I can't guarantee that," Anaya says.
He says a new development called Cold Smoke sounds promising.
"Hopefully, there is some solution. That project sounds awesome, honestly, so hopefully, that comes around, and it will make Big Sky a lot better," Anaya says.
The Cold Smoke development is an affordable workforce housing project that isn't quite at the construction phase yet. Gallatin County commissioners voted unanimously to approve the zone map amendment in mid-September.
The Big Sky Community Housing Trust and Lone Mountain Land Company are one step closer to breaking ground.
"It's raw land today, so we will need to do everything from putting roads into accessing infrastructure to resident amenities and so on," says David O'Connor.
O'Connor — the executive director of the Big Sky Community Housing Trust — says affordable housing is needed in Big Sky.
"We operate off of a housing needs assessment that's identified a deficiency of over 1,300 homes for workers and their families that would like to work where they live," O'Connor says.
He says an estimated 7,000 workers, over 80%, commute daily to work in Big Sky.
"Where we step in, we are looking to provide more permanent year-round housing for those that want to make a home in this community forever," O'Connor says.
O'Connor looks across the 96-acre parcel where there will someday be 125 single-family homes and 264 apartments. Just how affordable will the single-family houses be?
"About 150% of the total median income to 225%," O'Connor says.
And the apartments? "Ranging in affordability from 80% of every median income to 150%," O'Connor says.
Based on our calculations, that means purchasing prices would range from $189,660 to $284,400.
The entire project will be deed-restricted, and short-term rentals will be prohibited.
With a hefty project comes a large price tag. "The whole project is estimated to cost about 225 million," O'Connor says.
They hope to break ground in 2025 or 2026.
The following appendix to a 2023 Big Sky Community Housing Needs Update gives an estimate of the number of community housing units needed in Big Sky from 2023 projected through 2028:
