HELENA — Colonial Terrace Apartments rent for some of the lowest monthly rates in Helena, with some units renting for around $800 a month. They are set to shut down at the beginning of July 2025, leaving residents looking for new places to live amid a tight housing and rental market in the Treasure State.
Michael Brent and his late partner moved into the complex in April 2018. His mom now lives with him in his unit. When asked if he was surprised by the current situation surrounding the complex and its planned closure, he had a mixed reaction.
“In a way, yes; in a way, no," explained Brent. "There was speculation of another entity purchasing these, but that quickly got dismissed. I know most of these units needed a lot of work.”
MTN News obtained a Nov. 12, 2024, Notice of Termination to residents, which said in part, “Apartments and buildings in the complex were recently inspected as part of a due diligence review being done by a potential buyer.” The notice went on to say, “the inspection revealed defects and maintenance of buildings and concerns about living spaces serious enough to cause the buyer to withdraw the purchase offer.”
Letters obtained by MTN set a lease termination of June 1, 2025, for residents and a July 1, 2025 date that residents must move out by.
Several residents spoke with MTN News but requested to remain anonymous.
One resident who declined to speak on camera provided MTN with a Nov. 22, 2024 letter informing them the inspection and test results for the presence of methamphetamine residue revealed that “your unit had meth residue contamination that exceeded the decontamination standard set by the State of Montana.” Montana requires less than 1.5 micrograms of meth residue per 100 square centimeters of surface material.
The contamination in the complex was confirmed in a Nov. 27 statement to MTN News.
Brent says his apartment was not contaminated, at least not at or above the state's contamination standards according to a letter he received on Nov. 25. But that he will be forced to leave Montana to find affordable housing.
“We have to go out of state because nothing is affordable, especially in Helena. Wages aren’t keeping up with rent prices and house prices. I know there are a lot of people who are low-income here. They can only afford what we pay for rent, and I don’t know what they’re going to do, and that breaks my heart the most,” said Brent.
As of Dec. 4, Colonial Terrace’s address was not listed on the state’s Montana Department of Environmental Qualities list of 131 methamphetamine-contaminated sites. The last property added to the Lewis and Clark County list had an incident date in June 2015.
