BOZEMAN — If you have been downtown recently, you might have noticed some of the construction activity specifically at the intersection of 5th and Main. There's a proposal for a new hotel, and across the street there's new construction activity on some apartments, which city officials say could push the economic boundary of downtown further west.
“These projects are extending what's already going on downtown, trying to have walkable urbanism, something that's interesting for pedestrians,” says Bozeman Economic Development Manager David Fine.
The intersection has one project already under construction: a 6-story, 122-apartment complex and a proposal for a 5-story hotel that would add hotel beds to the city.
“Going forward with a new concept for a five story hotel on the site behind us. We have set the main residences, which is a six-story,” says Fine.
The site where the proposed hotel is has been vacant for seven years.
“Black Angus restaurant was torn down, left kind of a what I call a vacant hole in downtown Bozeman,” says Bozeman Chamber of Commerce CEO Daryl Schliem.
Schliem says the proposed hotel could add some much-needed supply, noting the city currently has just under around 2,800 hotel rooms. By 2029, that amount could be more than 5,000.
“But if you even look at the connectivity now, we're missing, if you go from 7th—19th is revitalized back full, 7th Avenue is becoming that—you're going to see a lot longer, in my opinion, walking Main Street,” says Schliem.
Schliem says while the change might be scary for locals, the growth has brought a nearly billion-dollar boost to the economy.
“Along with all the amenities that we have, we're sharing that with 4.2 million people that come through and we have to remember that they left almost 1 billion dollars in the Gallatin County economy,” says Schliem.
The hotel proposal still needs administrative approval before it can move forward, and the 120 apartments across the street should come online in 2025.
