City gains W. Broadway right-of-way in exchange for building removal
Martin Kidston
(Missoula Current) Plans to improve the intersection at West Broadway and Toole Avenue continue to advance and will gain some needed right-of-way when the project is ready to break ground.
The Missoula Redevelopment Agency last week secured the right-of-way in an arrangement with the owner of a neighboring parcel, who will receive assistance with the deconstruction and removal of a dilapidated building on the site.
“We'll need additional right of way into that parcel along Broadway,” said MRA Director Ellen Buchanan. “It will be needed to make the improvement to the intersection.”
The building, located at 1260 W. Broadway, is vacant and has been the target of vandals and transients. The property itself is an oddly shaped parcel that has limited redevelopment potential, according to MRA.
The owner, Paul Beck, plans to convert the site to a court for food trucks. Removing the structure in exchange for future right-of-way also removes what the city described as a safety issue.
The $49,000 deconstruction contract includes the removal of asbestos and salvaging useable material.
“It's important to get that building off the property There's been a lot of illegal activity there, including drug use and vandalism,” said Buchanan.
The city in 2021 developed a master plan covering roughly 15 acres along the West Broadway corridor. Among other things, the plan calls for roughly 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 15,000 square feet of office space.
On the housing front, it looks to provide around 130 market-rate townhomes and apartments, and around 70 affordable housing units targeted to a range incomes.
The plan also called for improvements to West Broadway and the intersection at Toole Avenue.
“We've been working with MDT on how to make that intersection safer and operate a little better,” said Jeremy Keene, director of Public Works. “We've looked at both a roundabout and signal options.”