Missoula launches Reserve-to-Scott master plan; officials seek public input on housing and transportation
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Summary
City staff launched the Reserve-to-Scott 2026 master plan, asking residents for priorities on housing, land use, infrastructure and connectivity. Officials noted recent annexation of Roseburg property, an upcoming affordable phase at the Rivard development and projected job and housing goals.
Missoula city staff on April 4 launched a master planning process for the area between Reserve Street and Scott Street, the I-90 corridor and the rail line, inviting residents to weigh in on priorities for housing, transportation and land use over the next 10 to 20 years, a city staff member said.
"We call it the Reserve To Scott 20 '26 master Plan," the staff member said, describing the meeting as the kickoff of public engagement and outreach to gather community priorities on infrastructure, connectivity and desired site uses.
The project team described the effort as an update to a 2016 plan in a part of the city that has seen residential growth along Scott Street. "Roseburg Forest Products has discontinued their manufacturing use, and ... the first phase of their property has been annexed into the city," the staff member said, and staff identified roughly 200 acres in the center of the planning area as candidate parcels for future development and infrastructure investment.
A presenter for a nearby redevelopment described the Rivard project as moving into vertical construction and said the permanently affordable portion of that development should be ready for move-in "around May or June." The presenter also said the studio redevelopment is planned in four phases and that the team hopes to participate in mixed-use workforce housing in the master plan area.
"We plan to create around 435 jobs over the course of 6 years," the presenter said, framing job creation as part of the growth plan; the number was presented as a project forecast rather than a completed result.
An agency official emphasized the wide need for housing across income levels and said planners will seek ways to accommodate varied housing types while protecting the culture and livability of Missoula. "Missoula, the brand and culture of Missoula are the people," the agency official said, arguing that public input should shape where housing, parks and commercial uses go.
The same agency official pointed to the Missoula Redevelopment Agency (MRA) as a financing tool that can help make projects feasible but warned that transportation constraints on the site create trade-offs and will require partnerships and funding decisions.
Officials said the meeting was a listening and information-gathering session; no formal decisions or votes were taken. City staff asked residents to identify priorities around infrastructure, connectivity, land use and housing price points to inform the next phases of the Reserve-to-Scott master plan.
