A problem that Bozeman has faced when it comes to affordable housing is there is no supply of it. A project next to Story Mill Park is set to add 62 units of affordable and market-rate homes.
“They'll soon be available for ownership for households who live and work in this community who are simply priced out,” says Headwaters Community Housing Trust Executive Director Michael Brown.
Looking towards a solution, which is to add more supply of market-rate homes to a housing pool that’s become expensive for those who live and work in Bozeman.
“We have a requirement that 75 percent of the income in order to be eligible to purchase one of these homes,75 percent of the income has to be earned here locally. We're trying to create housing for the folks who are already living here,” says Brown.
The 8-acre site will be home to 31 affordable housing units and 31 market-rate homes. The developers say this is a first-of-its-kind approach to mixed housing.
“That’s what neighborhoods used to be like—they were a mix of incomes and a mix of diversity, and we’ve sort of moved away from that because of market conditions,” says Brown.
With a variance from the city, the project was also able to be built at the same time infrastructure was under construction, which they say made it possible to bring these homes to the market sooner.
“In theory, this brought the homes to market much faster because typically all the infrastructure would go in, it would get signed off by the city, then construction of the homes could take place. So those two are happening simultaneously,” says ERS Real Estate Sales Associate Mark Meissner.
By kicking this project off, the team hopes that the project can become a model to bring more affordability to the Valley.
“It's I think going to show Bozeman ways that we can do things better and more affordable,” says ERA Real Estate Broker Tyler Garrison.
“We're the ones testing out some of these ideas and we think that it’s going to work and were about to find out,” says Brown.
The project which is set to be done in three phases will be fully complete by summer of 2023. The first phase will open sometime this fall.
