Gwen Jones: Addressing Missoula’s housing challenge
Gwen Jones
As I knocked on doors off the Hip Strip a few weeks ago as part of my campaign for city council, I came across The Hogan—a new, affordable senior living facility with studios and communal kitchens. As a councilor for Ward 3, two years ago I was happy to vote yes on the new zoning for this project that helps older Missoulians.
When I visited, people were congregating in a communal kitchen. I chatted with about ten people who were preparing a Sunday dinner together. What a great, community-oriented housing design!
Addressing the post-pandemic housing crunch is a multi-pronged task for the council. We not only approve zoning for creative projects like The Hogan, but we also support Missoula’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund and the Missoula Redevelopment Agency.
The MRA recently acquired a new tool that allows it to expand its support of affordable housing. It can now invest in the housing projects themselves, not just their adjacent infrastructure.
That’s a big deal. Local government does not control the housing market, and we can't dictate that housing prices come down. But we can do a lot to help, and we are.
Housing in Missoula is out of reach of many of its inhabitants. The Area Median Income (AMI) is $86,000. A median-priced home in Missoula is $520,000. Prospective homebuyers would have to make nearly double the median–$160,000–to qualify for a mortgage on that home.
Now, the MRA can use its funds to bridge that gap by working with developers who target prospective homebuyers who make 60 percent to 140 percent of the AMI. And it can help those developers build the housing, bank the land, and/or even reduce the interest rates.
By doing so, it can help put more homes within reach of Missoulians.
The MRA has worked on housing for decades, spending over $10.2 million since 1978 to help create over 1,966 housing units, 849 of which are designed for people with lower incomes. At present, it has $7 million dollars in the pipeline for housing units, and a significant number of those are designed to help the same people.
There’s more.
The MRA has developed another tool to help provide more affordable housing. If the MRA decides to fund a project that doesn’t have an affordable housing component, the developer must donate 10 percent of the MRA’s money to the trust fund. That will create a significant source of income.
In three short years, the trust fund has accomplished a lot. It helped close the funding gap for Bonnie’s Place, a mobile home park turned owner co-op; and the Wolf Collective, now owner-occupied instead of rentals. It has helped fund projects such as Trinity and Villagio, now providing close to 400 affordable rental units. And it has contributed to the United Way Housing Solutions Fund, keeping people housed who are on the edge of losing their places and need help with rent.
Missoula is nothing if not community-minded, and the MRA isn’t the only agency tackling the issue—by far. Nonprofits, other local governments, the faith community, and other groups and individuals have rolled up their sleeves.
In my next term on the City Council, I will continue to support these tools and any others that increase our investment in affordable housing. Remember to mail those ballots by Oct. 31!
Gwen Jones is President of the Missoula City Council.