MISSOULA — After years of complications and controversy, a new development has been announced for the former Missoulian building on Higgins Avenue.
Cole Bergquist, a Missoula-based developer and former Montana Grizzly football player, provided details in a press release Wednesday about Higgins Waterfront. The project is a mixed-use riverfront development planned for the site along the Clark Fork River on the Hip Strip.
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Bergquist wrote the development will bring "new life to the area where downtown meets the University District."
The development will include 80 residences, a mix of condos, penthouses and two-story townhomes. All will have access to hotel amenities.
The project will also include a 155-key hotel, a year-round rooftop bar and restaurant, local shops and dining.
In Wednesday's announcement, Bergquist pointed to a new partnership with Hawkins, a Boise-based development group that has projects across nearly 30 states.
The development's past partnership had included Aaron Wagner, a Utah investor who was indicted last year by a grand jury on wire fraud and money laundering charges.
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Wagner was one of several partners in the 2021 proposal to redevelop the four acres on Higgins Avenue that formerly housed the Missoulian newspaper.
Those project plans fell apart after Wagner shared offensive comments with Missoula residents online after they criticized the development.
According to Bergquist's announcement, the latest design has been refined for efficiency and to follow the downtown master plan.
"We’ve already received strong interest from investors and formal offers from several hotel brands," he wrote. "The first capital raise is complete, and we’re now preparing for the second, which will fund construction."
He added the goal is to keep the development as local as possible so Missoulians and Montanans can take part in what he calls a landmark project for the city.
You can view the Higgins Waterfront website here.
