Walker added: “Bozeman residents are challenged to find homes they can afford today. At the same time, many homebuyers are eager for more time and freedom and not necessarily a big home and large yard and dependence on a vehicle. Bridger View will deliver options and we believe will showcase demand for them.”
Langlas & Associates is breaking ground on the neighborhood this week, installing infrastructure throughout the spring. The 62 homes will be constructed in three phases with the first homes available for purchase early next year.
“Bridger View” is breaking ground this week after years of planning by experts in affordable housing, sustainable neighborhood design and sustainable home construction.
Featuring 62 homes on eight acres, with shared greenspaces and pathways connecting to Story Mill Community Park and Bozeman’s trail system, Bridger View will offer an alternative to Bozeman’s two major residential-development trends— growth of “mid-rise” housing in the city’s core, and large-lot and large-home subdivisions pushing Bozeman outward, requiring longer automobile commutes.
“We are very excited to be getting underway on 62 homes that Bozeman obviously needs,” said Michael Brown, director of the Headwaters Community Housing Trust, which is leading the project.
Brown added: “We are humbled as we join others who are working to provide affordable-housing solutions for our community’s residents. To have an opportunity to demonstrate additional solutions in a high-quality neighborhood next to a beloved community park is a big responsibility and we take it very seriously.”
Bozeman’s housing costs continue to increase much faster than household incomes, displacing workers from living in their own community even as they help Bozeman grow and prosper. Bridger View seeks to make a meaningful contribution to this affordability crisis by pricing 31 of the neighborhood’s 62 homes at levels affordable to middle-income individuals and families. Bridger View’s other 31 homes will be offered at market-rate prices and will feature exactly the same floorplans, finishes and amenities.
Designers of the neighborhood say Bridger View will demonstrate that more homebuyers, regardless of their income level, increasingly want cost- and time-efficiencies of owning smaller homes and yards than are typically being constructed, as well as leading-edge energy efficiency. Together, these features reduce construction costs while lowering long-term costs of operating and maintaining a home.