BOZEMAN — An empty lot at the intersection of 7th Avenue and West Aspen Street is soon to become affordable housing, continuing to change the landscape of Bozeman.
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I spoke with Tyson Jolliffe who is a chef at Audrey's Pizza Oven. He tells me he has seen what Bozeman has become over the years.
“When my brothers came to college here, 19th was pretty much a dirt field and a ditch where all the kids played in,” says Jolliffe.
Jolliffe also mentioned what he has seen the area become as the years go by.
“All the farmland is going away and high-rises and housing developments are coming,” he says.
As the lot was cleared for the new housing, some Bozeman residents expressed concern on social media about the loss of the trees on the property.
I met up with David Fine, who is the urban renewal program manager for the City of Bozeman, and he told me the housing project known as 7th & Aspen has been planned for some time.
“In this case, we had an opportunity through years and years of planning to add housing where it's desperately needed and that's what this project is doing,” Fine tells me.
And as for the trees, Fine said there isn’t much the city can do.
“In Bozeman, we have development standards that apply to everyone and right now we don't have rules that protect trees on any redevelopment site," he says. "So, while there are trees on this site, the developers are following the rules of what they can do with their private property."
Despite the change, Jolliffe tells me how he feels about the farmland in the area.
“It's kind of sad but we have to move forward eventually. So, we’ll see what happens,” says Jolliffe.
Regardless, David and Tyson both feel the affordable housing development—which received incentives from the city's affordable housing organization—will provide much-needed help.
“I think this is a really exciting public-private partnership in which we’re able to put city money into building something we really need, which is affordable and workforce housing for our community,” Fine tells me.
Even though some farmland is going away, Jollifee says the 7th & Aspen housing development is something Bozeman residents could benefit from.
“I think it's great to have low-income housing because, you know, the median house price here in Bozeman is going up every day,” he says.
To learn more about the 7th & Aspen development, you can read the project's revised site plan application from July 2024.
