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6/27/2025
“Missoula This Week” is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to [email protected].
The redevelopment project will generate $7 million for the city’s affordable housing fund
After years of planning and multiple false-starts, redevelopment of the Riverfront Triangle, located west of downtown along the Clark Fork River, into a hotel and conference center is moving forward, the city announced Thursday.
The city is finalizing agreements with Whitefish-based Averill Hospitality for the sale and redevelopment of two acres at the southwest corner of Orange Street and Front Street, according to a press release. The approximately $100 million project does not include the other privately owned parcels within the triangle.
“The public-private partnerships and investment that’s been made in downtown Missoula on Front Street has created an enormously vibrant, active space for small businesses, where people gather, where people come visit, where people have experiences and make connections,” said Mayor Andrea Davis at a press conference announcing the project. “That’s going to be here.”
The proposed mixed-use development includes a hotel with about 180 rooms, 15,000 square feet of conference and event space, a new parking facility and a riverfront public plaza, said Brian Averill, the owner of Averill Hospitality. The company, which also manages the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel off Madison Street, has been working with the city for about a year on the project.
“We’re very excited to be involved in it,” Averill said. “It seems like there’s some excellent pieces that will enhance the community, such as this outdoor plaza.”
The plaza will feature public seating, concessions and support events, according to the city. A new trail will link Front Street to the existing trail under the Orange Street bridge. The trail and plaza will be managed by the city once completed.
Averill said design work will take about a year, and construction will begin sometime after that.
The property is located within the Riverfront Triangle urban renewal district, making it eligible for tax increment financing to help pay for certain infrastructure improvements. The project will use TIF to pay for subsurface utilities, improvements to adjacent streets, sidewalks, landscaping, riverfront trail and the public plaza, according to the city. It’s unclear how much TIF money will be used for the project without more detailed designs, said Ellen Buchanan, director of the Missoula Redevelopment Agency. However, the property will begin generating more tax revenue than it currently is as a city-owned parcel once the land sale is complete, she said.
“I think it’s safe to say it will do a whole lot better than what it’s doing today,” Buchanan said. “We think this will be a catalyst for the rest of this privately owned property around us.”
The city will sell the two-acre property for $4 million, with $1.7 million paid at closing. The sale revenue will go to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Averill Hospitality will assess 1% on room and food and beverage revenue to be donated to the fund. The assessment is estimated to generate $300,000 annually, and donations will last for 10 years or until $3 million has been contributed to the trust fund, whichever comes first, according to the city.
Davis said that the voluntary contribution to the trust fund is the first of its kind in Missoula and that she hopes to see others do something similar.
Leaders of the Downtown Missoula Partnership, Destination Missoula and the Missoula Chamber of Commerce applauded the project and its expected contribution to the city’s economy.
“It will really help us reinvest and reinvigorate the West Broadway corridor that has seen some blight over the recent years, and it will bring energy, employment, commerce and investment really to the heart of our community,” said Linda McCarthy, executive director of the Downtown Missoula Partnership.
If the developer fails to secure financing and begin construction within five years, the city can repurchase the property for the original price paid plus up to $250,000, according to the press release.
The city has owned the site for about 40 years. The property previously included a landfill, the Fox Theater, the original Mustard Seed restaurant and other businesses. In 1984, the theater owner donated the land to the city. The city acquired other surrounding land in 2000, removed buildings and cleaned up the former landfill area in 2005.
Dozens of developers have considered the site in the years since, but no projects have come to fruition, according to the city. In 2011, the city began working with a group of developers on the Fox Hotel project, which would have included a hotel, conference center, parking structure and a public plaza. The development rights were transferred to local business owner Nick Checota in 2019 for a $100 million events center, hotel and condo project. Those plans were canceled after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The Missoula Redevelopment Agency board will consider the agreements on July 7. If approved, the Missoula City Council will discuss them during a committee meeting on July 16 before going to a final vote on July 21.
Verbatim
“I would love to live in a world where the [U.S.] Senate wasn’t considering selling off our public lands, but as it stands, they are. … Knowing how much Missoulians and Montanans care about our public lands, I felt it was important to bring this resolution as quickly as I could to elevate our collective voices on an issue that matters so much to all of us.”
—Missoula City Council Member Eric Melson on a resolution he brought to the council on Monday in support of the continued federal management and stewardship of public lands.
The city council voted unanimously to support the resolution, which was drafted in response to Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee’s proposal to sell more than 2 million acres of federal lands. The proposal was first amended into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by the House and later removed. Lee planned to add the measure back into the bill on the Senate side, but on Tuesday, the Senate parliamentarian determined the proposal would violate the chamber’s rules, the Associated Press reported. Lee said on social media that he is still working to move a revised plan forward.
The Missoula County commissioners approved a similar resolution on Thursday.
On Monday, the Missoula City Council also approved a resolution opposing proposed federal cuts and changes to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding. Mayor Andrea Davis told the council that the programs provided necessary support for Montana residents needing medical care and healthy food. Proposed Medicaid cuts would hurt rural hospitals and put pressure on Missoula medical facilities, Davis said.
Council Member Stacie Anderson said cuts to Medicaid could affect the city’s behavioral health crisis response team. Medicaid reimbursements cover about one-third of the budget for the mobile support team, a partnership between the city fire department and Partnership Health Center, said John Petroff, an assistant fire chief.
Council Members Bob Campbell and Sandra Vasecka voted against the resolution. Vasecka said she wanted to support the resolution but did not have enough time to research the topic. Campbell said current Medicaid spending is “untenable” and Congress is looking to build a program that will last.
5 Things to Know in Missoula
On Wednesday, the Missoula City Council approved a resolution opposing “anti-competitive rental practices,” including price-fixing software used by large property management companies. The software generates rental prices using non-public, sensitive data shared among landlords who subscribe to the service, allowing price coordination and artificially inflating rental costs, the resolution states. Last year, the U.S. Justice Department and eight states filed an antitrust lawsuit against real estate software company RealPage, accusing it of illegally allowing landlords to coordinate rental hikes, the Associated Press reported. Council Member Kristen Jordan said it’s impossible to know what property management companies or landlords use the software, but at least one company that owns real estate in Montana was implicated in the lawsuit. Jordan said the resolution does not target local “mom and pop” landlords, who may be disadvantaged by others’ use of the software. While Jordan said she wanted to ban the software, the city attorney told her that the action is outside of the council’s jurisdiction. Council Members Bob Campbell and Sandra Vasecka opposed the resolution.
The Missoula City Council on Monday confirmed Lonnie Rash as the new fire chief. Rash has more than 25 years of experience and is currently the chief of Spokane County Fire District 8. Rash, who grew up in Bozeman, will start on July 7, following Chief Gordy Hughes’ retirement on June 30. Rash thanked the council and citizens for supporting the 34-mill fire levy voters approved last June.
“I’m really excited for where the future goes with respect to our past and where you have got us to,” Rash said during the Monday meeting. “I’m excited to be part of this team working with and for you moving forward to create and continue that vision.”
Construction of a roundabout at the Scott Street and Phillips Street intersection will begin July 7. The project includes the roundabout, upgraded pedestrian crossings, streetlights, stormwater drainage improvements and street restriping to create buffered bike lanes. Construction is expected to wrap up before the start of the school year. The Missoula City Council in February approved a $754,900 contract with Knife River for the work. The project aims to address safety concerns such as speeding on Scott Street and delays for traffic turning off Phillips Street, according to the city. The Scott Street bridge will be closed during construction, and vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic will be detoured. A detour map is available online.
The Missoula Public Library is discontinuing its hotspot lending program starting July 1 because of state and federal funding cuts. Library Director Slaven Lee previously told MTPF the program was funded by American Rescue Plan Act money provided through the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. When that money ran out, money from the state’s coal severance tax fund paid for the hotspots, Lee said. However, that funding expires at the end of this fiscal year on June 30. It costs about $30,000 to $40,000 annually to run the program, Lee said. The library is exploring new ways to support digital access, according to a statement on social media.
The Missoula County Democrats are holding forums with city council candidates on July 2 and July 9. All are welcome to the events, held at 5:30 p.m., in the Cooper Room on the fourth floor of the Missoula Public Library. The Wednesday, July 2 forum will include candidates for Wards 4, 6 and some for Ward 3. Candidates for Wards 1, 2, 5 and some for Ward 3 will speak on July 9. Each of the city’s six wards has one of two seats up for election, with both Ward 6 seats up because Council Member Sandra Vasecka was appointed after a tie in 2023. Only the Ward 5 seat held by Stacie Anderson is unchallenged. Vasecka’s Ward 6 seat and the Ward 2 and 3 positions will have a primary election on Sept. 9. The race for mayor will also go to the primary.
Might be Fun
The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula is holding its annual 4th at the Fort celebration on Independence Day. Admission is by a suggested cash donation of $5 per person or $15 per family. The money supports the Friends of the Historical Museum activities, the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History and local Missoula youth agriculture clubs. Festivities begin at 10 a.m. and include live music, wagon rides, old-fashioned children’s games, activity booths, food trucks, craft vendors, tours of historic buildings, miniature ponies and more.
Tickets are still available for the Zootown Music Festival on Friday, July 4, and Saturday, July 5, at the Missoula County Fairgrounds. The event will feature a lineup of about 20 musical artists, including Hozier, Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Mt. Joy, Lake Street Dive and Modest Mouse. Gates open at 1:30 p.m. and artists will begin performing on two stages at 2 p.m.
The festival is produced by Always On, Knitting Factory Presents and Shore Sound Entertainment in partnership with Destination Missoula and the University of Montana’s Entertainment Management program. Organizers partnered with GuideTime to offer guided excursions for festival attendees, including fishing, biking, hiking, rafting and family-geared trips. To purchase tickets and view the event schedule and other information, visit the Zootown Festival website.
Programming Note
Missoula This Week will not publish on Friday, July 4, because of scheduled time off. We will return to our regular publication schedule on July 11.