Residents press council on Southgate Crossing plan; mayor and council outline public process and park design timeline

A string of residents urged city leaders on Sept. 8 to slow the Southgate Crossing redevelopment, preserve public open space and prioritize affordable and locally produced housing in the Midtown area. The council and mayor responded that the city’s purchase of parcels created an opportunity for a public park and that a formal park-design process will begin in October.

Multiple speakers — including Carrie Schreiber, Gwen Hoppe, Sarah Giuliani and others — told the council they had believed the city’s Midtown master plan guaranteed preserved open space and neighborhood parkland. Carrie Schreiber said she repeatedly saw differing depictions of a proposed bus transfer center and asked “how firm the plan for the bus transfer center is,” noting adjacent homeowners’ concerns about impacts to their properties.

When the public comment portion moved to Southgate Crossing specifically, Schreiber said she and neighbors had been told the city bought the property to retain control over development and to “create the opportunities that the Mermont [sic] companies will be carrying forward.” She said recent media coverage describing a private sale and “a one-and-a-half acre pocket park nestled within an HOA” did not match what neighbors had been told and left them with “low” trust in the process.

Mayor Andrea Davis said the Midtown master plan was a vision, not a prescriptive mandate, and that the city’s ownership allowed officials to steer the parcel’s redevelopment. Davis said there will be “a public process for working on the park design” led by parks staff in October and pointed residents to the City Lands Task Force materials describing the task force membership and goals. The mayor also said the city is coordinating with the developer and Mountain Line transit planners about siting a possible transfer center in the area.

Councilor Nugent sought to correct public descriptions of the property’s prior status, saying, “The easements that keep getting referenced were platted roads. So they would have if the properties had been developed, they could have turned into basically paved roads and sidewalks.” Nugent and other councilors said a range of goals — parks, housing density, homeownership opportunities and trails — are being balanced and that the public will have further opportunities to weigh in.

Councilor Campbell noted the city has devoted tax increment financing through the Missoula Redevelopment Agency to Midtown work and urged careful stewardship of those public funds, saying the city is “into Southgate Triangle… for north of $5,000,000 worth of tax increment financing dollars.”

Speakers called for local control and more creative affordability measures, with Sarah Giuliani urging that the city “keep it local” rather than relying on out-of-state developers and asking for housing that is affordable to workers such as nurses. Gwen Hoppe asked the council to “take your time and not be rushed” and to preserve opportunity for community-led development on some lots.

The mayor’s office and planning staff cited ongoing public-engagement materials on Engage Missoula and said additional meetings and design opportunities for the park and neighborhood connections will be scheduled in the fall.