Growth and
development are two big issues in the Rocky Mountain
West.
Where to grow, how to grow, how to pay
for the growth, who pays for it – all are questions
under consideration from Idaho through Montana and down
to Wyoming.
Every development, every city, every county,
each state – those questions all have unique answers
crafted – hopefully – by the folks whom
the development affects the most.
The news stories about new developments,
subdivisions and neighborhoods often focus on what residents,
city and county officials and other interested groups
don’t like about such proposals – where
it’s located, the density, the impact on existing
neighborhoods, the loss of amenities, and on and on.
Sometimes it’s good to celebrate
what is being done right, and there’s a lot of
that going on in the Northern Rockies.
The Sonoran Institute launched an ambitious
project during the summer of 2005 to seek out the best
development practices in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana,
and showcase specific projects that have successfully
used those practices.
The outcome is the “Building from
the Best of the Northern Rockies,” a publication
that provides case studies on those outstanding projects,
complete with photos, information about the principals,
the square-foot cost, if applicable, and perhaps most
importantly, lessons learned from the projects.
Some of the projects that appealed the
most to me are:
The Cedar Street Bridge
project in Sandpoint, Idaho. An abandoned
bridge is replaced with a mixed-use pedestrian shopping
bridge. The bridge was built using tamarack timbers
from forests in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
Downtown Powell, Wyo.
I admit my bias here, as we showcased The Merc, a cooperative
department store created with private investors, in
a Western Perspective in March of 2005. The Merc is
credited with being the cornerstone for the revitalization
effort of the downtown area.
The Great Northern Town Center
in Helena, Mont. This pedestrian-friendly
development on an abandoned railroad spur offers a mix
of office and retail space, restaurants, museum and
a hotel. The project is designed to offer housing in
the future.
The Front 5 project in
Boise, Idaho, earned a place on my
list because it turned a 1970s railroad warehouse into
a U.S. Green Building Council LEED certified office
building. I appreciated the project in that a building
was saved rather than torn down and replaced, and the
Front 5 is an aesthetically pleasing building that offers
occupants a lot of natural light – and those tenants
can save on their energy bills as well.
When it comes to affordable, sustainable
housing projects, and the report contains a plethora
of them, Orchard Gardens in Missoula
wins hands down. Again, I am showing my hometown bias.
The 35-unit housing complex offers a community barn,
community gardens, a common area and residents harvest
and sell fruit from an adjacent orchard.
The Fields Condos in Ketchum,
Idaho, caught my attention because it combines
market-rate condominiums with deed-restricted condominiums
for sale to teachers, firefighters, police officers
and other workers in the community whose salaries make
it impossible for them to afford homes there.
Xanterra’s Employee Housing
in Gardiner, Mont., provides housing
for some National Park Service employees in Yellowstone
National Park, and its LEED design, use of green materials
and construction design made it a must-mention for me.
The Northern Rockies report isn’t
just about beautifully designed, energy-conscious projects.
The report also explores land-use planning in –
for now – wide-open spaces.
The Big Hole River Land Use Plan,
crafted by representatives from four counties, two watershed
groups, and the residents of the Big Hole Basin in Montana,
earned a place in the report for the community engagement
the creation of the plan elicited.
Community engagement was also cited as
the driving force for the creation of the Hebgen
Basin Zoning District, which was formed to
handle spillover growth from Gallatin County in Montana.
The report contains many, many more projects
in the three states and my list of personal preferences
is by no means exhaustive.
When you peruse the report, and I heartily
recommend you do so, you may prefer the In-Town Case
Study about Montana projects such Downtown Fort Benton,
Downtown Phillipsburg or the Little Bighorn College
in Montana, or Boise Downtown or Park Cottages in Idaho,
or the Flathorn Townhomes in Jackson, Wyoming.
No matter what your views are on development,
you’ll find plenty of thought-provoking information
in the “Building from the Best of the Northern
Rockies,” and I suggest you contact the Sonoran
Institute and get a copy of your very own.
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