EAST HELENA — Last month, the East Helena City Council unanimously approved moving forward with an application for a municipal bond to support the Rose Hills development.
This vote marks a significant milestone and a crucial step in advancing the project from planning to implementation.
(WATCH: East Helena Rose Hills development moves forward with municipal bond application)
“That municipal bond program that is made possible through the state legislature this last session allows the board of investments help small towns like East Helena develop the infrastructure needed to build the housing Montana desperately needs,” said Jacob Kuntz, the executive director of Helena Area Habitat for Humanity.
The city is proposing a bond of up to $12 million to help cover the majority of off-site infrastructure costs, including water, wastewater, and transportation improvements that must be in place before the 1500 homes can be built.
The final bond amount has not yet been determined and will be refined as the application process moves forward.
East Helena Mayor Kelly Harris said, “There are a lot of steps to these things, and it is unqiue and it shows that the city council is open to these unique ideas.”
Addressing infrastructure upfront allows the project to advance responsibly while protecting the city’s general fund and existing taxpayers.
The mixed-income development is part of the two-thousand-acre former Asarco smelter site. “Seeing that being protective and used and valuable to the community again is an amazing thing,” Harris said.
A widespread concern from the community has surrounded water availability. The city says there are currently existing water rights sufficient to serve the Rose Hills neighborhood, but they are preparing for the future, too.
“There are also water rights that are intrinsic to the smelter property that the city would like to obtain, and if you are going to build housing developments on those properties, we think it is only right that the water rights intrinsic to those properties follow them to provide clean water,” Harris said.
Once the board of investments approves the bond amount, it will head back to the city council for the final stamp of approval.
Kuntz said, “The work continues now on engineering all the streets, the water, the sewer, the sidewalks, the parks, and the lighting for Rose Hills.”
Habitat says they are aiming to break ground this summer, with houses going up in the summer of 2027.
