Former University of Montana quarterback Cole Bergquist says the last year couldn’t have been more difficult. He spent much of it negotiating with the U.S. Department of Justice to wrestle back control of the former Missoulian newspaper property just off Beartracks Bridge. His former business partner, Aaron Wagner, had been charged with federal wire fraud. Wagner is still awaiting trial.
“But even through all that, I knew that we had a solid project and the story could be reversed,” Bergquist told MTPR in a Zoom interview.
Bergquist found a new partner that’s helping him push the more than $100 million project forward. The proposed Higgins Waterfront complex is set to dramatically transform Missoula’s quirky Hip Strip district. Longtime local stores will sit kitty-corner from a four-story hotel and 80 new units of luxury housing.
The project has drawn sharp reactions online, with some residents praising it for bringing life to a neglected corner of town, and others seeing it as another example of Missoula’s longstanding affordability problem.
Sara Stout with Missoula Housing Authority says developing new homes at or below market rate is a difficult task, especially on expensive pieces of land. She says an influx of new homes at all levels can help lower prices.
“So the fact that we’ve had all this growth — not just on the affordability side — of multifamily housing in Missoula means that we’re doing a great job,” Stout said. “We’re heading to that healthy mark.”
Bergquist says he scaled down the Higgins Waterfront proposal from the first attempt four years ago. He says the property was large and expensive, and he knows the homes he’s building on it may be out of reach for some Missoulians. He says he’s still accepting feedback as the project takes shape.
