ERA Lambros to market Missoula Water lots deemed surplus property

After lying idle for years, the City of Missoula is selling four Missoula Water properties.

To help with the sale, the Public Works Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved an agreement with real estate agency ERA Lambros to provide marketing and sale services for the properties.

According to Deputy Public Works Director Dennis Bowman, most of the properties consist of wells or tanks that are no longer in use.

“Even though we own these properties, we still have expenses on them,” Bowman said in an interview with the Current. “We got to mow them. We got to weed eat them. So that’s why we figured, why not turn around and go ahead and sell them, and then be able to have someone pick them up and potentially even put some affordable housing on them?”

The properties are located 1236 Dickens Street; 247 Pattee Creek Drive; 507 Simons Drive; and in the North Hills Trail area.

Bowman said the properties haven’t seen use in years in part due to improvements in the water system making the properties no longer needed to pump water.

The property in the North Hills Trails Area that held a water tank hadn’t seen use for decades.

“I think in the early 80s the tank was abandoned, but the previous owners and the city had just hung on to that piece of property and it hasn’t been used for over 30 to 40 years,” Bowman said.

If the agreement is approved during Monday night's City Council meeting, ERA Lambros will take a 5% commission with the sale of the properties. The rest of the proceeds will go to the water enterprise fund.

“We’ve looked into this for a long time, and we’ve been approached by some of the neighbors around these properties that have shown interest in even buying the property itself,” Bowman said. “I think it’s really good for the utility, but also good for the neighborhood and the community.”