The city of Missoula is finalizing a deal with a Whitefish developer for a hotel and conference center project at the Riverfront Triangle, the long-languishing 2-acre property at the intersection of Orange and Front streets — no doubt the most prime, if blighted, piece of undeveloped real estate in downtown Missoula.
The project, to be developed by Whitefish’s Averill Hospitality, would include a 180-room hotel, 15,000 square feet of conference space, parking, a public plaza and — potentially — residential condominiums, the city announced last week. Averill would purchase the city’s portion of the triangle for $4 million.
The Riverfront Triangle is located in an urban renewal district, thus the project may be eligible for tax-increment financing if approved by the Missoula Redevelopment Agency. MRA projects must benefit the public in some way. The city says this development would enhance pedestrian connectivity along the Clark Fork River, improve traffic flow, offer a new public space and catalyze area development.
The developer is also offering to donate revenues from a 1 percent assessment on room, food and beverage sales to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund for at least 10 years or until $3 million is contributed. It’s the first time a developer has made such an offer, Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis said during a press conference.
“I am so thrilled to be standing here on a site that the city has owned for decades and decades — that we have long wanted to turn into a redevelopment, into part of our community, to be able to extend downtown, to see this as a vibrant part of our downtown,” Mayor Andrea Davis said.
Several proposals for developing the triangle have come and gone over the years. In 2019, developers Nick and Robin Checota announced a plan for a $100 million civic center, hotel and events project, which was scrapped during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other proposals along the same general lines have also emerged and faded.
The project will go before the MRA board on July 7, to a city council committee the following week and to the full council the next, assuming it receives favorable votes at each step.
This story originally appeared in The Pulp, which can be found online at thepulp.org.