Originally published in the 3/9/18 print edition of the Yellowstone County News.
BILLINGS — The future for One Big Sky Center (OBSC), which has morphed from a proposed multi-faceted complex into broader development for all of the downtown Billings area, hinges right now on the ability of civic leaders to raise funding for a master plan.
Community partners are being asked by the developer, Hammes Group, to bring $675,000 to the table to help fund a $1.3 million master plan for their vision of a convention center downtown, as well as other development to serve the medical corridor along North 27th Street. The Hammes Group would fund the balance of the $1.3 million.
Big Sky Economic Development’s (EDA/EDC) joint executive boards on Wednesday gave a nod to their director, Steve Arveschoug, to collaborate with others in a downtown partnership to structure some kind of deal in which EDA could make a loan of $400,000 to the master plan development, to be repaid over time with revenues from the downtown tax increment finance (TIF) district.
They hope to have some kind of proposal ready to submit to the Billings City Council at its meeting on March 26, at which time the council is expected to decide on whether the city will contribute $100,000 to the cause.
The loan, along with the hoped-for $100,000 from the city, as well as other commitments, including a $50,000 grant from EDA, would go a long way to meeting the $675,000 goal, said Arveschoug. They would have amassed $530,000 of their goal, and they could probably get the balance from other donations, including some private entities, said Arveschoug. EDA would ask that the loan be collateralized by a lien on the Yesteryears Building (at 1st Avenue North and N. 29th Street), which the City of Billings purchased for $800,000 as a commitment to the initially proposed OBSC by another developer.
While EDA/EDC executive committee members gave Arveschoug the latitude to explore possibilities of structuring a loan, a number of them expressed concerns about securing the loan with the Yesteryears Building, among them were bankers who asked that they research the property regarding environmental and hazardous materials issues. They also expressed doubts that the property is really worth the appraised value of $854,000, which included the land and the building. The value of the land alone was appraised at $409,000.
“I don’t want us to own the building,” said one banker.
Another quizzed, “Why not just go to a bank?”
“Could we just buy the building?” another board member proposed.
“Only if you want to speculate in buildings,” came a reply.
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