Missoula council approves Midtown Commons land sale and development agreement after heated debate over trees, ditch and park design

The Missoula City Council on May 18 approved a package of agreements that will convey city-owned Midtown land to Miramonte Companies and authorize a development agreement that includes tax-increment financing (TIF) reimbursement for public infrastructure.

The city will sell the Midtown Commons parcel and an adjacent Mary Avenue tract to the developer at the same prices the city originally paid (total $7.2 million in land purchase price returned to the city). The Missoula Redevelopment Agency (MRA) authorized up to $10.9 million in reimbursements to the developer for infrastructure costs (estimated at $8.4 million for utilities and $2.5 million for the public park), while the developer will make a $5 million payment to MRA as units sell. Total private development cost is estimated at about $94 million; the full project is scheduled for infrastructure completion by Dec. 31, 2029 and buildout by end of 2033, barring amendments.

Councilors debated the plan at length after more than two hours of public testimony. Neighbors and environmental groups urged the council to preserve a mature cottonwood stand and the existing irrigation-ditch habitat, to expand the proposed park and to slow the sales process. Speakers described the grove as an urban refuge used by birds and residents and expressed concern about tree removal, ditch relocation and loss of mature canopy.

Supporters — including the Missoula Midtown Association, several neighborhood leaders and housing developers — said the consolidation of the long-vacant land will produce a planned public park, new trail connections, safer access and hundreds of new housing units close to jobs and services. Proponents noted the city’s purchase of the land made a public park and trail connections possible; they argued private development could have provided no public park at all.

Mayor Davis, MRA staff and the developer emphasized protections in the agreements: land transfers are phased, developer repayment of the city’s purchase price is tied to sales and progress, MRA reimbursement is by invoice for completed public infrastructure, and the development agreement contains timeline and completion benchmarks. Staff confirmed that if contingency funds are unspent they will remain in the URD3 budget; MRA will only reimburse actual invoiced costs.

Council added a friendly amendment requiring an owner-occupancy addendum for initial for-sale units (buyers must use the dwelling as a principal residence or second home and may not lease the home to a third party for the first 24 months, subject to limited exceptions). The amendment also included liquidated-damages language tied to enforcement and to protect the city’s TIF investment.

Key outstanding technical items discussed during Q&A included geotechnical and environmental assessments, the conceptual 30% contingency in early cost estimates, and third-party approvals. Staff and the developer said the irrigation ditch company has not yet given final written approval for a proposed ditch relocation; they warned that the project budget and timing assume relocation can be agreed and that final permitting (including ditch approvals and ADA/engineering reviews) will occur during the design/permitting phase.

Council votes: the two purchase-and-sale agreements passed 10–2; the development agreement passed 9–3 after close debate and the owner-occupancy amendment passed 10–2. Several council members said they supported the project overall while expressing regret about tree loss and urging continued effort to preserve habitat, maximize park value and rigorously control costs.

Next steps: with council approval the city will move to convey the parcels in phases under the terms negotiated; the developer will begin detailed permitting and engineering review that must address ditch-company approvals, final park design, ADA compliance, and construction phasing before public infrastructure reimbursement occurs. If ditch relocation is not approved, staff said the conceptual site plan could be revised and may require amendment to the development agreement.

The council’s approval brings the project forward after decades of inaction on the site and aims to deliver mixed housing types, a new public park, and trail connectivity — balancing housing goals with neighborhood open-space concerns.