Averell Hospitality to develop Riverfront Triangle hotel and conference center; pledges funds to Missoula affordable housing

City of Missoula officials and Averell Hospitality on a public site announcement described plans for a new hotel and conference center on the city-owned Riverfront Triangle parcel along the Clark Fork River, saying the project will include a public plaza and riverfront trail connection and will direct funds to the city’s affordable housing trust fund.

Brian Averell, owner of Averell Hospitality, said the hotel development would generate about $7,000,000 for Missoula’s affordable housing fund over time from a combination of land sales and a share of hotel revenues. “It’s going to cause about $7,000,000 of funds to go to the affordable housing fund in Missoula, over a period of time,” Averell said at the event.

The announcement covered the site’s long history and the next steps for municipal review. Ellen Buchanan, director of the Missoula Redevelopment Agency (MRA), said the roughly three-acre parcel has been city-owned for decades and that the MRA will consider project agreements in early…