A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Monday in City Council chambers for comment on whether the city of Missoula should apply for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds.
The nonprofit Montana Sustainable Building Center and the Rocky Mountain Development Group envision a campus of green - or environmentally friendly - retail and consulting businesses, as well as a place for community education on the issue.
If authorized, the city would apply for the federal funds and then lend the money to the Montana Sustainable Building Center.
“To this point, we haven't fielded any adverse reaction at all,” Barton said. “A project like this will create dozens of jobs, and they are jobs that could possibly go to low- and moderate-income folks.”
Barton said while there is some risk in any loan, the city would be first in line for repayment in the case of a possible default.
Under terms of the federal funds - designed to inspire private economic activity - local governments borrowing the money must pledge their current and future Community Development Block Grant allocations to cover the loan amount as security on any loan, according the HUD Web site.
Homeowners and buyers would be able to find reclaimed materials, new green materials, construction tools, workshops and consultants, designers and builders on the campus, according to Rick Wishcamper of the Rocky Mountain Development Group. Similar centers exist in Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Berkeley, Calif.; and Spokane.
As planned, the anchor tenant will be Home Resources, a Missoula nonprofit that sells used building materials and other goods.
The 2.85-acre Wyoming Street site has an existing 22,000-square-foot building. Wishcamper said plans call for the construction of three new buildings, creating another 25,000 square feet of space.
He said they expect to close on the Wyoming Street property next week and hope to start construction on the $6 million center next year.
The Montana Community Development Corp. has loaned $350,000 to Berkeley United LLC, a subsidiary of Rocky Mountain Development Group, for purchase of the property.
“We're very excited about the project,” said Steve Grover, business development manager for MCDC. “I think the concept of getting a sustainable building campus in Missoula is good for the local economy and for the green building movement.”
Wishcamper estimated the center could create 180 jobs over the next 10 years in retail and professional services such as design, architecture, engineering and other consulting. He said he hopes to be able to offer below-market rents to the estimated four to 12 tenants in the center.
As required by the HUD funds, some of the jobs created by the project must benefit low- and moderate-income people. As part of the lease agreement with tenants, the businesses would work with Missoula Job Service when they are hiring, Wishcamper said.
Wishcamper said his development group also has applied for about $1 million in Economic Development Administration funds, under the Department of Commerce, and would gain financing from federal tax credits and other sources.
Reporter Pamela J. Podger can be reached at 523-5241 or at pamela.podger@ missoulian.com.
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