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05/22/2026
“Missoula This Week” is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to [email protected].
Residents of 55+ community strained by rent increases
Many residents purchased a home in the Katoonah Lodges mobile home park, a community for those 55 and older just west of Missoula, thinking it would be their last. But recent rent increases following the park’s purchase by an out-of-state investment firm have some questioning if they can afford to stay.
“We are at max-stressed out,” Vickie Reynolds, a Katoonah Lodges resident, told Montana Free Press earlier this month.
Residents of the 103-unit park located off Mullan Road organized earlier this year with the help of the Missoula Tenants Union. The group sent a demand letter to Texas-based Axia Realty Partners April 8 requesting an end to rent increases that surpass cost-of-living-adjustment standards and has not received a response. Katoonah residents and supporters gathered at the park Thursday evening to celebrate the launch of their supermajority union, with 76% of homes represented.
Katoonah Lodges is the third Missoula-area mobile home park to form a supermajority union with more than 65% of residents represented. Last month, the out-of-state owners of two other unionized parks, Travois Village and Harvey’s, met in-person with the parks’ bargaining team. The group won some concessions about rental protections and the company agreed to continue discussions over a new lease.
The Katoonah union has formed a bargaining team that is working on a strategy to get Axia Realty to come meet with members, Reynolds said. Axia representatives did not respond to MTFP’s request for comment by late Thursday.
Axia purchased the park in January 2025 and raised the rent by $100. In a letter to residents shared with MTFP, the owners said the increase was needed to help pay for utility upgrades and other infrastructure improvements. Earlier this spring, residents received notice of an additional $95 rent increase that took effect May 1.
Reynolds said her rent increased from $550 before the sale to $745. While residents understand rents will rise, the large increases are difficult for those receiving a fixed monthly income $900 to $1,000 from Social Security, she said.
“If they raise the rent to $1,000, 80% to 90% of us will be homeless,” Reynolds said.
Some residents paying mortgages along with lot rent are cutting back on buying food and prescriptions to afford the increases, Reynolds said. Residents are also concerned that the company’s increased lot rent for new tenants of $1,100 will make it more difficult to sell their homes, she said. Moving a mobile home is cost-prohibitive and open spaces to relocate are few.
“We feel like sitting ducks because we are,” Reynolds said.
As one of the younger Katoonah Lodges residents, Reynolds, 68, said she got involved with the union to help her neighbors.
“Some people are housebound, scared,” she said. “They don’t know what they’re going to do. This is our last home. … It’s a shame out-of-state, greedy people are doing this to hardworking Montanans.”
Following Up
The Missoula City Council Monday approved the sale of 15 acres near the Southgate Mall for a $100 million housing development.
Later this year, Miramonte Companies will break ground on the Midtown Commons project, which includes 225 to 250 apartments, condominiums, townhomes and single-family houses, as well as a new public park.
“We are going to build a new neighborhood in the middle of town as the result of the scale of this project,” Mayor Andrea Davis said Monday. “That is a really monumental achievement.”
At the end of the five-hour meeting Monday, the council approved the $7.2 million sale of two pieces of property to Miramonte. The deal includes the 13.5-acre property the city purchased in 2024 for $5.9 million and a 2.3-acre adjacent property the city is simultaneously purchasing and selling to Miramonte for $1.3 million. The money from the sales, paid over time, will go to the city’s affordable housing trust fund.
The council also approved a development agreement and an amendment requiring owner occupancy in the for-sale units, addressing concerns Council Member Mike Nugent raised last week. The change requires buyers to prove they are purchasing the unit as their primary or second home and not for investment purposes. It bans buyers from leasing the homes to a third party for the first 24 months of their ownership.
On May 8, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency board approved using $10.9 million in tax increment financing to help pay for the project’s infrastructure and the park. About $2.5 million of that money will go toward the new 1.6-acre public park, with the remainder funding street, sewer and water infrastructure. Under the agreement, the developer would pay back $5 million as residences are sold, meaning the city would ultimately spend about $5.9 million in TIF on the project.
The park design includes a playground, shade shelter, community lawn, sports court, pollinator habitat and other amenities. The city is working with the ditch company on an agreement to reroute the existing irrigation ditch to go through the new park, city officials said last week.
On Monday, Marina Yoshioka, the city’s parks and recreation director, addressed community members’ concerns about the removal of the trees around the ditch. She said that the city takes removing trees seriously, but that the aging cottonwoods can be hazardous in busy parks.
“The habitat historically is of an upland dry field and these are not the conditions that define a healthy riparian corridor, even though I understand it can feel that way when you’re standing there looking at mature trees and running water,” Yoshioka said. “It’s true that this property will be different. … And we are building a park designed for everyone, maintained, accessible and built to serve this neighborhood.”
About a dozen people voiced concerns about the project, most related to the loss of the natural area around the irrigation ditch and the plans for the park.
Neighborhood resident Cathy Scribner said the city hasn’t given particularly good reasons for “destroying” the natural area and questioned why it is not incorporated into the park.
“It boggles the mind that the city honestly intends to destroy every precious tree in an area otherwise lacking critical established shade habitat, especially with climate change, especially because it’s a heat island,” she said. “Aren’t we in the more blue-collar areas deserving of a park that includes natural habitat and mature shade trees?”
Council Member Jordan proposed amendments to the agreements that would delay tree removal and require ditch company approval of the proposed relocation before construction in the area or TIF reimbursement. Another proposed amendment considered using a previous plan for the development instead of the current site plan. All three amendments failed.
Council Members Jordan and Bob Campbell voted against the purchase and sale agreements and development agreements. Jordan said while she voted against the project, she is not opposed to housing, development of the site and using tax increment financing. But, she added that not every housing development is a win to taxpayers. Campbell said he opposed the project because the government should not be involved in real estate or subsidize private development. Council Member Sean McCoy voted in favor of the sale but against the development agreement because of concerns about the park plan.
Other council members expressed support for the project and its inclusion of a variety of housing types and improved access to parks and trails. The project will provide needed options for many people who do not qualify for subsidized housing but cannot afford the median sale price, Council Member Amber Sherrill said.
“I understand the neighbors’ concerns and I understand that this level of change and loss is difficult,” Sherrill said. “I also believe this is an ideal place for housing, and is an ideal place for a developed community park, as well as roads and trail connections. As I’ve said many times on council, we are constantly trying to thread the needle.”
5 Things to Know in Missoula
Missoula County recently received a $838,720 federal grant for improvements at the Marshall Mountain Park base area. The Land and Water Conservation Fund grant rounds out the remaining funds needed for the $1.68 million project, according to the county. The planned improvements include providing drinking water and shade at the base area, constructing a main trailhead, completing early-phase trails, improving site accessibility, renovating the outdoor event and community space and upgrading utilities and maintenance facilities. Construction is anticipated to start in 2027. Other contributors to the project include Friends of Marshall Mountain, the Missoula Mountain Bike Coalition, the Missoula County Trail Bond program and the city-county Open Space bond.
The Missoula City Council Wednesday approved a new voluntary energy conservation standard outlining best practices to potentially reduce energy use and operating costs. The document is an educational reference tool for builders, homeowners and others and is not an enforceable regulation, said Devin Filicicchia, an associate transportation planner. The standard includes considerations for building facades, heating and cooling systems, water heating, appliances, solar energy, backup systems and electric vehicle readiness. It is not a replacement for consulting qualified professionals, Filicicchia said, and there aren’t financial incentives in this program.
The Missoula County Elections Office is offering tours during equipment testing and ballot processing before and after the June 2 primary election. The tours of the Elections Center offer a chance for members of the public to learn about the election process and feel more confident about it, said county Elections Administrator Bradley Seaman in a press release. Election equipment testing will take place at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, May 26; ballot processing at 10:45 a.m., Thursday, May 28; ballot tabulation at 8:45 a.m. Monday, June 1; provisional ballot count at 2:45 p.m. Monday, June 8; post-election audit at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, June 10; and election canvass at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 16. Those unable to attend can learn more from the county’s information videos.
The city of Missoula’s public works department is holding a public meeting Wednesday about upcoming sewer projects in the Miller Creek neighborhood. This summer, the city will replace two aging septic pump systems with new gravity sewer lines. Roads in the area will be partially closed for several weeks and fully closed for two to three days, according to the city. Construction is set to begin in mid-June depending on weather conditions. The Missoula City Council awarded a $354,940 bid to Three Rivers Landworks for the Maloney Ranch project and a $513,430 bid to Western Municipal Construction for the Lamoreux project. The council Wednesday approved a $126,860 agreement with HDR Engineering for construction administration for the projects. City staff will provide more information and answer questions at the meeting from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, at the Maloney Ranch Park picnic shelter.
This Memorial Day weekend, Xplorer Maps will donate one USA fleece blanket to local veterans for every one sold. Donated blankets will go to veterans living at the Missoula Housing Authority’s Valor House and into move-in kits for veterans transitioning out of homelessness into their new homes through Veterans Inc.’s supportive services program. Blankets can be purchased at Xplorer Maps, 1245 S. Third St. W., or at xplorermaps.com from May 22 through May 25.
Happenings
Residents planning to kick off their summer this weekend can get tips to do so safely at the Bitterroot Bear Aware event Saturday at Travelers’ Rest State Park in Lolo. The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and includes bear identification tips, a bear spray tutorial and information about securing bear attractants at home. A kids program focused on bears will run from 11 a.m. to noon.