MISSOULA — From farmland to family homes, Missoula's Mullan Road could soon see even more development.
What used to be 40 acres of hay fields near George Elmer Drive and England Boulevard now sits vacant and could soon become hundreds of homes.
"I think it's a well-thought-out, well-designed project," City of Missoula planning supervisor Dave DeGrandpre told MTN.
Watch to learn more about what's in the works:
The Paisley Park project, north of Mullan Road and southeast of the Missoula airport, is proposed for up to 671 homes.
"There'd be a mix of housing types that are proposed from single-family type detached residential all the way up through apartments of varying scales. They're looking at 8 phases over a period of 20 years," DeGrandpre said.
"I would want to stress that we hope that it's developed with lots of different types of houses, so not just cookie-cutter, one look, one feel, that there's a real mix and that people of different ages, of different backgrounds, of financial means can live there," DeGrandpre added.
A Spokane-based developer, OO Land Holding, LLC, hopes to bring the land into the city limits and rezone it upon annexation.
"Annexation is the first step; this is a preliminary stage, an approval-type stage, but after that, there are several more kinds of checks and balances along the way," DeGrandpre explained.
With this proposed project being just one of many in the Mullan Road area over the last few years, DeGrandpre notes that base infrastructure is a key reason why development is happening.
"Main arterial roads, George Elmer Drive, England Boulevard, for example, along with some sewer main lines. So, that makes it a lot easier for developers to come in if the backbone infrastructure is already in place," DeGrandpre said.
As Missoula keeps growing, DeGrandpre adds that there are priorities when developing the area near Mullan Road.
"We want to preserve local agriculture and encourage local agriculture, but at the same time, there are not a lot of big chunks of land that can be developed to accommodate the housing that's needed by Missoulians. So, the city has planned out this area for urban-scale residential-type and mixed-use-type development."
The Paisley Park Project will be on the City Council Consent Agenda on August 25. Public comment ends the next day, on August 26.
The proposed subdivision will be discussed during a planning board public hearing on September 6.
The City of Missoula has a page dedicated to the Paisley Park Project. Click here for more information.
