Developers flagged rural resale risk; several withdrew citing limited exit market

Staff told the group that several developers who initially expressed interest subsequently withdrew because the numbers did not support their expected resale profits in Roundup. One developer noted that the project would be attractive in Billings but was harder to justify in a smaller rural market; staff used those developer responses to weigh the risk of reissuing the RFQ versus granting extra time to the incumbent team.

The staff conversation also referenced local developers with histories of risk-taking in similar Montana towns and cited that the incumbent team had historical preservation expertise and had brought its full team to the walkthrough — signs staff considered positive. Still, staff cautioned that if the county granted a long extension and no other proposals arrived, the county would likely incur the time and cost of a new RFQ process.