MISSOULA — After taking a deeper look at a contractual requirement to place a daycare facility in a development off Scott Street, the result remains the same— it won't pan out for project partners, including the city.
Members of the City Council on Wednesday voted to release Ravara from a daycare agreement clause written back in 2021.
Still, the project will deliver a number of other city goals, including inward growth, 47 income-qualified homes for purchase, a new park and needed infrastructure.
“It's the biggest affordable home-ownership opportunity in state history,” said city CAO Dale Bickel. “That's one thing that was important to the mayor and council during this process, was to create these affordable ownership opportunities.”
While the rest of the project moves forward, Bickel and others said the daycare provision has been difficult to accomplish, though it's been reviewed from a number of angles.
The Missoula City Council initially considered removing the requirement back in April but opted instead to keep the measure in committee to give a working group more time to explore the proposal.
Donna Gaukler, director of Parks and Recreation and a member of that working group, said she looked at the viability of the city purchasing space to serve as an after-school program.
But in the end, she said the Scott Street development wasn't a good fit and the multi-million dollar cost was too steep.
“We're in a financial situation where it's not going to make sense for the city at this particular time, at this particular location, and with the particular budget climate we're in,” Gaukler said.
While exploring the daycare requirement, Parks and Recreation also looked to Missoula Childcare Advantage to see if it could operate the facility if the city owned it. That also proved not to be an option at this time.
Sally Henkel, the Childcare Advantage coordinator at United Way of Missoula County, said the project wasn't a good fit.
“At this time, we're not interested in being a building owner or investing in privately owned spaces,” she said. “Childcare is hard. It's a tough business model. It's a public good with a private delivery that needs more investment from state and federal levels in order to be more sustainable.”
The Scott Street development has managed to survive a number of challenges in the post-pandemic climate, where interest rates and inflation have climbed.
While the daycare portion of the project won't work, the development will still provide other public goods, according to the city.
The project is funded partially by New Market Tax Credits, which requires the developer to own the commercial buildings for 7.5 years. That requirement proved to be another hurdle for a childcare facility.
“I think we're trying to jam too many things into what's already a great project,” said council member Mike Nugent, who also served on the working group. “But I think the city, long-term, will be better for having gone through this and having had these conversations.”
Council member Gwen Jones offered similar thoughts.
“Any affordable housing that we're going to get built has to be a collaborative effort between different partners,” she said. “We do try to go above and beyond and be visionary, but sometimes those aspirations have to sync with reality.”
Despite the findings of the working group, council member Carlino voted against removing the daycare requirement.
“I'd like to continue with that agreement and make sure the developer pays for this childcare facility,” he said. “I think it's more important to stand up for working families in Missoula that need access to childcare than it is to make extra profits for the developer.”
