Development
What-a-deal category
Buy the Stimson Property East of Missoula, and Get a Working Mill for Free
Stimson Lumber Co. officials in Missoula met with Craig Rawlings of TimberBuySell.Com, representatives of Montana's congressional delegation and others to spread the news about an offer: Buy the former Stimson plant in Bonner for $16 million and get all the equipment, including a working stud mill, for free.
The offer stands until Sept. 30.
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Those Paws Up Blues
Eddie Bauer Draws Ire for Tie to David Lipson’s Paws Up Ranch
Some of Eddie Bauer's Montana customers have taken umbrage at the retailer's recently unveiled co-branding with the Missoula-area Resort at Paws Up Ranch.
Over the past week, Eddie Bauer announced its new fall marketing plan, which is on the front page of the Seattle-based company's Web site. It says, "New for fall, inspired by the Last Best Place: Paws Up Montana. See Our Video."
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resort economy
In Montana, Bitterroot Resort Rides Out Volatile Market
While high-end developments around the West collapse under the weight of huge debt loads the slumping housing market can't support, the planned Bitterroot Resort south of Missoula, having yet to tap investors and with little built infrastructure, appears to be in position to ride out the slow down.
As rancher-turned-resort CEO Tom Maclay said Tuesday, "It's very good to be standing outside of that."
The money spent so far on planning, public relations, carving runs on private land, retaining top-flight resort manager Jim Gill has all been "internal," Maclay says, made possible by "a few land sales" and "good bankers."
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a non-profit feels the squeeze
Missoula Habitat for Humanity Copes with Rising Costs, Fewer Donations
For years, finding affordable housing in Missoula has been a difficult task. Soon, due to rising land and building costs, providing it may be just as hard for Habitat for Humanity of Missoula.
“Over the past 20 years it’s phenomenal how much [building] cost have gone up,” Missoula Habitat for Humanity executive director Dave Chrismon says. “Since Habitat here in Missoula began back in 1991 we’ve seen lot sizes go down and down and lot prices go up and up.”
Back then they paid about $8,000 for quarter-acre lots. Now they are now paying $39,000 for lots less than half that size, Chrismon says.
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For Some, the Building Boom Still Booms
Demand Still High for Skilled Tradesmen
Ongoing commercial construction has kept skilled tradesmen busy, despite a slowdown in residential housing and word that some developers have fallen behind in their bill-paying to area contractors.
"We just put out word for more carpenters," said Dennis Daneke, head of Local 28 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.
"Commercial construction is still booming, and, right now, we're booming," he said.
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paperboard blues
Workers Hope to Rescue Missoula’s Paper Mill
An enterprising young millworker and his union cohorts have a plan to save Missoula's Smurfit-Stone paperboard mill.
The millworker is 27-year-old Roy Houseman.
"It's a serious concern," Houseman said. "But I'm going to do my damnedest to make sure it doesn't happen."
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agriculture and development
Navigating Development, Food & Soil in Missoula County
In Missoula County, less than 8 percent of the land is suitable for agriculture. Which is why Paul Hubbard of Community Food and Agriculture Coalition said Thursday, "There's no need in having lots too big to mow and too small to farm."
Hubbard was speaking before City Council and the County Commission as part of a panel discussion on agriculture and development in the Missoula Valley.
As Missoula grows, houses are sprouting up in the few areas in the valley where food can. And so CFAC has begun to offer recommendations on individual developments' potential impacts to agriculture.
But for developers, needing to account for the importance of soils in their subdivision proposals, when already navigating a thick regulatory rulebook, is tough to swallow.
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Company pledges to be more “forthcoming”
Q&A with Plum Creek CEO Rick Holley
A sluggish housing market, skeptical politicians and an increasingly cynical media have tarnished both Plum Creek Timber Company’s profits and image in recent months. While CEO Rick Holley acknowledged he doesn’t foresee a short-term fix for the former, his presence in Western Montana – meeting with newspapers and municipalities, and emphasizing a need for renewed “transparency” – showed the company is approaching public relations with renewed zeal.
Holley fielded a wide range of questions last week during a visit to the Flathead Beacon office in Kalispell. Click here for a transcript of the interview.
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energy
Controversy Looms Over Oil Shale
New regulations intended to steer the removal of vast resources of oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming have drawn praise from supporters and fierce criticism from opponents, underscoring the controversy that hangs over an energy source that gets more and more attention as fuel prices climb.
Environmentalists blasted the proposed regulations as an attempt by the Bush administration to ramp up energy development in its waning days. In Colorado, where the oil shale is in less supply but is considered easier to reach, Sen. Ken Salazar has accused the administration of trying to “set the stage for a last minute fire sale” of oil shale leases. He has joined his brother Rep. John Salazar and Rep. Mark Udall, a fellow Democrat, in calling for a year-long moratorium before allowing any oil shale development. Gov. Bill Ritter, also a Democrat, has also opposed the new regulations.
Supporters say the new rules are necessary if development of oil shale, believed to be years away from being commercially viable, is ever going to happen.
“I think it’s going to be a while for all of these (alternative fuel sources) to be significant players,” said Jerry Boak, director of the Colorado Energy Research Institute at the Colorado School of Mines. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be pursuing them.”
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Expensive Air Shows
The Business and Politics of Firefighting
With fires raging in many parts of California, the Los Angeles Times is running a big series on the growth in wildfires and the cost of containing them. Part one provides lots of interesting detail on just how much those fire camps - a familiar site in Rockies these days - cost to operate. (We're pretty sure that most firefighters aren't sleeping in air-conditioned trailers with chamber-maid service, but some are, apparently.)
Part two is even more interesting, alleging that choppers and air tankers ore often deployed for political reasons, against the better judgement of fire commanders. Last year's Sun Valley blaze is cited as a prime example of a fire where political pressure trumped firefighter judgement.
What's a reasonable amount to spend fighting wildfires? That, ultimately, is the policy question at hand, and kudos to the LA Times (my one-time employer) for providing a lot of solid reporting that helps inform the issue. We look forward to the rest of the series.
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