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6/9/2025
Major housing development moves ahead
A large development of single-family homes is clear to go forward after getting the approval of the Great Falls City Commission last week.
Developers of the project, called Meadowview Village, intend to build 163 houses in a 27-acre parcel off of 46th Street. The homes are aimed at entry-level homebuyers and will feature “efficient lot design” to help reduce costs. Smaller lot sizes will forego big individual yards in exchange for shared green space that will run in front of a row of homes with vehicle access in the alleys.
Within the development, the roads will be privately maintained through a homeowners’ association.
Jake Clark, vice president at the Great Falls Development Alliance, said that many discussions have taken place over the years to address affordability and housing supply in Great Falls. He said this project addresses those factors: entry-level homes built on an unused lot within the city. This is known as “infill” development.
“This is the type of project that we could only hope for at the beginning of those conversations,” Clark told commissioners.
Missoula-based Upslope Group is the developer. Company representative Keith Miller said during last week’s meeting that the company’s goal is to add a supply of entry-level homes at a time of rising costs and when much of the homebuilding has come in the form of apartments.
“What I think we can all agree on is that more housing is needed and that the people of Great Falls deserve to own a home,” Miller said.
Construction will happen in 10 phases. Miller said that work could start late this year, though many factors could push that start to next year. There is a tentative window of five to seven years to complete the entire development. City documents say that the developer will pay to extend a water main through the neighborhood and connect to the current system.
Miller said that it’s too early to discuss estimated market prices for the homes.
During the meeting, commissioners approved three measures: annex the former county land into the city, approve a planned unit development zoning request and approve the preliminary plat, which is a general development plan. You can view a site plan and a visualization of the completed development at the 2:37:00 mark here.
Following up
Great Falls city commissioners approved a 27% increase to sewer and water utility rates to support a capital improvement fund that will expand the capacity of current infrastructure and support future development, according to city staff.
The average residential bill for combined sewer, water and storm drain service could increase by $17.61 monthly under the change. The estimated monthly increase for commercial customers could be $46.82. Actual rates will vary based on the water use for each property owner.
City commissioners considered two options at their June 3 meeting: a 10% increase and a 27% increase. According to Public Works Director Chris Gaub, the 10% option would continue operations and address some system repair needs. The larger increase covers operations and builds a fund of about $6 million annually to address system repairs and expansion to foster growth. The city projects more than $160 million in needed improvements to the water system in the next five years.
City commissioners unanimously approved the 27% option as a forward-looking investment as labor and material costs continue to rise.
“It’s going to cost us a lot more in the future,” said Commissioner Susan Wolff. “So I look at this from the current infrastructure not being able to take care of it the way we should.”
Residential water rate increases have fluctuated over the past decade, rising 10% in both 2016 and 2017 and then shrinking by 9% in 2018. The city made no increases during the COVID years of 2020 through 2022. More recent annual rate increases were 10% for 2023 and 15% for 2024, according to city documents. Commissioners described the longer-term trend as barely keeping pace with expenses.
Commissioner Joe McKenney said that he often hears about kicking the can down the road.
“I feel like I should have been issued a catcher’s mitt because the cans just keep coming,” he said at the meeting.
System expansion projects funded by this increase will increase the capacity of the water and sewer systems and alleviate “pressure points,” according to Gaub. That could include enlarging water mains, upgrading pump stations and expanding water storage capacity. Gaub said the projects will serve current system users and avoid potential issues when new developments hook into the network.
During a public hearing on the rates, opponents included landlords, who now receive one utility bill that covers all tenants of a property due to a policy change implemented last fall. They talked about the difficulty of raising rents and that many landlords end up absorbing the increase.
NeighborWorks Great Falls Executive Director Sherrie Arey spoke in support of the increase “with caveats.” She echoed other testimony that rising utility costs hit low-income renters the hardest.
“The burden of rent is tremendous in the community, and this will be passed on to the renters,” Arey said.
She encouraged the city to consider other funding streams, such as community development block grants, to offset other housing costs.
The increases will take effect July 1.
Benefis development will be taxed
The city of Great Falls can expect to see property tax revenue from a senior housing development proposed by the nonprofit Benefis Health System, according to a hospital official.
Benefis plans to subdivide and develop the land adjacent to The Grandview senior living facility off of 18th Avenue South and 29th Street. The hospital system has asked the city to approve development plans for an apartment building and 28 single-family units, collectively called Sanavita Estates.
And as city officials are intent on growing the tax base and property tax revenue, a Benefis official signaled that the development will be a taxpaying entity. As the project progresses, Benefis will set up a company to own the property and pay taxes.
“Sanavita Estates will be a taxed entity, the project is just in an early enough stage that we are still establishing the corporate structure for it,” said Kaci Husted, Benefis senior vice president, in an email to Montana Free Press.
Similarly, the apartment complex across the street, along 18th Avenue South next to Touro College, was developed on land owned by Benefis. The health system set up an LLC, called Olivet Housing, which owns the land and pays property taxes, according to county records. Sanavita will have a similar setup.
The tax status is determined by how much a property aligns with the hospital’s “defined tax-exempt purpose,” according to Husted. That purpose is providing clinical services to patients, and the health care properties of Benefis don’t pay property taxes as nonprofit entities that serve that purpose. The Sanavita development will be independent living units aimed at seniors, not caregiving facilities, so it cannot be exempt from taxes in the same way Benefis is.
“Because Sanavita Estates won’t offer clinical services or provide residence to people who can’t pay to live there, it falls outside of our tax-exempt umbrella,” Husted said in an email.
The proposed development will include a 64-unit apartment building and 28 detached single-family “villas” across 9.6 acres, according to planning documents. The housing will be aimed at residents who are 55 and older and seek an independent living situation.
An additional 17 acres on the south end of the parcel will remain undeveloped for future use. The Grandview facility will remain on the western end of the parcel.
After receiving approval from Neighborhood Council No. 5 and the Great Falls Planning Advisory Board, the Great Falls City Commission passed the first reading of the ordinance for the development on June 3. The ordinance will establish a planned unit development for the project.
That sets up a public hearing scheduled for July 1 before the city commission, after which commissioners will consider final approval of the development.
5 things to know in Great Falls
Great Falls city commissioners appointed Jessica Crist to another term on the Great Falls Public Library Board of Trustees. Commissioners interviewed four candidates for the position, including Crist, during a special work session June 3. A retired faith leader, Crist said that she supports the library as a repository of public information while working within the board structures and city policies. “A library that doesn’t support the First Amendment, that doesn’t talk about the First Amendment, that doesn’t live the First Amendment — that’s a real problem,” she said.
Spark! Children’s Museum announced that it has found a new headquarters at 201 2nd Ave. S. Last fall, the organization moved out of its former home behind the Civic Center. The board explored options in 12 locations before finalizing a lease on Second Avenue. There isn’t yet a firm opening date at the new location, according to a social media post from the organization, but the board is aiming for late 2025 or early 2026. “Our mission is to spark the joy of learning,” said board president Sarah Lautenschlager in a press release.
Tiffany Hensley-McBain, interim director of the Weissman Hood Institute at Touro (formerly McLaughlin Research Institute), has been promoted to associate professor and appointed associate dean of research at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine-Montana, which is a parent organization of the institute. Hensley-McBain is also a leading researcher at the institute. Former institute director Renee Reijo Pera has been named CEO and professor.
NeighborWorks Week is ongoing and will include tours of major projects that involve the organization. A tour of the Baatz Block supportive housing building is scheduled for June 9 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. On June 10, a tour of the owner-built homes will be available at 2121 23rd Ave. S. from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The newest 10 homes are near completion at the site. On June 11, a Mural and Brew tour will highlight the downtown murals starting at 3 p.m. (RSVP here) On June 12, two bus tours at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. will tour various NeighborWorks projects around town. The tours take about an hour and 15 minutes, and an RSVP is requested here.
The Great Falls Police Department announced an initiative to address incidents with unhoused people downtown. The department said that residents will see an increased police presence in the area, according to a press release, including the reassignment of school resource officers in the summer when school is out. Those officers will assist the existing “directed enforcement team” that is dedicated to targeted issues and areas. More information on the initiative is here.
Great Falls in context
Great Falls remains a relative outlier among other Montana cities that are still seeing growth, according to a new analysis from Montana Free Press. Between 2020 and 2023, Montana saw 51,000 more people move into the state than move away.
A new compilation of population data shows Great Falls compared to other major Montana cities and provides a city-by-city look at population growth (or decline). Check out the full report here.
