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Land Board approves 25‑acre Kalispell commercial lease for workforce housing; auditor urges lease‑template revisions
Summary
The Land Board unanimously approved a long‑term lease for roughly 25 acres in Kalispell with Lariat LLC proposing a ~396‑unit workforce apartment project and voluntary affordability targets; the Auditor praised edits but said the $2 million per‑occurrence insurance limit "is not gonna be adequate" over a 30‑year term and moved to place a template revision on the March agenda.
The Montana Land Board voted unanimously to approve a long‑term commercial lease for approximately 25 acres of state trust land in Kalispell, clearing the way for a proposed workforce housing development that DNRC said will generate long‑term revenue for trust beneficiaries.
DNRC told the board it issued a request for proposals for commercial development in March 2025 and received one proposal from Lariat LLC. DNRC said Lariat proposes to construct a roughly 396‑unit workforce apartment community across 11 buildings with voluntary affordability targets — rents 10 to 15 percent below market — and that the project is ready to proceed following lease execution.
During discussion the Auditor said staff and the proposed lessee had worked on improvements to the draft lease since the item was first scheduled for the board’s October meeting. The Auditor noted the final lease now expressly limits the term to 99 years (the earlier draft lacked a clear limit and could have allowed indefinite renewals as drafted). He also pointed to the legal description change: Section 1 now references the preliminary site plan as the legal description, with the final plat to substitute once the city of Kalispell approves it.
The Auditor said he supported the project overall but raised a concern about the insurance requirement. “A 2,000,000 limit over a 30 year lease is not gonna be adequate, over time,” he said, and told colleagues he would bring a separate motion to update the commercial lease template at a future meeting. The board subsequently voted to place a template‑revision item on the March agenda; DNRC staff said they would try to meet the March timeline but might request more time if necessary.
DNRC’s presentation and the board’s vote concluded the agenda item; the lease was approved as described in the meeting materials and the Auditor signaled a follow‑up review of the lease template at a future meeting.
