A rezone request for a half-city block in a Westside neighborhood received unanimous approval from the Missoula City Council on Monday night, clearing the way for redevelopment to begin later this year.

The development, planed by Westside Village LLC, will replace the property's handful of mobile homes – owned by the developer – with 24 new apartments intended for market-rate rent.

That's estimated at around $1,200 a month, the developers have said.

“It still falls within what folks earning between 40% and 80% of area median income can qualify for,” said council member Heather Harp, who also serves as executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Missoula. “If we throw in some utilities along with that, we can find households with three to four people who can find a place to afford to rent on this particular property.”

Most of the property's past tenants have already relocated, and efforts have been made to relocated the remaining few. The property is located at Shakespeare and Burton Streets and is considered underdeveloped by city planners.

The property sits near a number of existing amenities, including grocery and a bus line. While zoning allows for far-more units, the developers are planning just 24 apartments.

The developers also have said that some of the mobile homes on the property will be refurbished and lived in elsewhere. Other trailers on the property were described as being beyond repair.

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