MISSOULA — It’s no secret that Missoula is experiencing significant growth right now, with the future looking promising to bring even more.
Missoula County is well aware of this and is looking at the Wye to manage the growth, with the hope that it will ultimately fulfill community goals of reducing sprawl.
That being said, the County is running into some roadblocks in terms of getting development going at the Wye. They’re running into a lack of infrastructure.
“Yeah, it's a little bit of a mess, honestly,” said Andrew Hagemeier, community and economic development director for Missoula County.
Hagemeier says that the Wye is prime for development… but,
“There's only so much we'll be able to do so fast. And these things are really expensive,” said Hagemeier.
Watch MTN Zach Volheim's report here:
The county has a 50 year plan to address the lack of infrastructure, mainly starting with water and sewer access, to help an industrial base in the area expand.
And while it may be expensive to put in infrastructure, the county is receiving some help, ensuring that county taxpayers won’t pay for what may be put in.
The county has set up tax increment financing areas in the Wye, but they’re also partnering with private industry to expedite the process.
“We were busting at the seams in Frenchtown and we needed a space to be. And finding industrial buildings in this valley is dang near impossible. So by partnering with that, we were able to push the process ahead, thereby benefiting ourselves obviously, but also the county,” said Josh Smith, owner of Montana Knife Company.
Smith helped put in a water system for his new warehouse, which also serves surrounding buildings - mainly for fire suppression.
And here’s a key thing about the water system Montana Knife Company put in, they will sell the system to the county at a discounted rate, out of goodwill.
“I think this is going to be the spark in the gas that ignites in this area and brings more really great jobs to this community,” said Smith.
With private-public partnerships leading the charge on getting infrastructure put in, the hope is that development will be spurred in a way that creates town centers at the Wye, providing a walkable area for those who live and work at the Wye.
All this being said, the plan is again 50 years in scope, so while the wheels may be turning, they have a long way to go.
But both the county and private industry are left with high hopes.
“I think we're the example of what can come to this area and how it can help better Missoula in the area around it,” said Smith.
