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Affordable housing continues to be a big concern in the Greater Bozeman area – this article ran about an apartment complex that will cater to individuals that qualify by income – it’s going up now right across from the Kenyon Noble on Oak Street.
Construction has begun on a new, 136-unit affordable rental complex off Oak Street in Bozeman, its developers said this week.The project, Larkspur Commons, is subsidized by a $200,000 grant from the city of Bozeman’s affordable housing fund, as well as federal tax credits administered through the Montana Board of Housing. It is being developed as a partnership between GMD, a for-profit Seattle-based affordable housing developer, and Homeword, a Missoula nonprofit housing developer.
The group’s plans call for pricing the project’s townhome- and flat-style apartments at levels affordable to Bozeman residents making as little as 50 percent of median income, about $24,000 for a single-person household. It says rents in the project will range from $560 a month for one-bedroom units to $940 a month for a three-bedroom unit.The project will be located on a 4.5-acre parcel south of Oak Street, between 12th and 14th avenues. It will be managed by Real Estate Management Specialists of Kalispell, with leasing beginning as early as September, the group says.
“For people earning 50, 60 percent of median income there aren’t a lot of options,” said Heather McMilin, Homeword’s housing development director.
“There was enough need in Bozeman that a 136-unit project would work.”The project’s financing structure means that a 46-year commitment to the below-market rental rates will be baked into it through a deed restriction, creating a long-term affordability guarantee that endures even if the property is sold, McMilin said.