Riverview Apartments
Montana
When most people think of Big Sky, their mind goes to ski resorts or summer fishing. What most people don’t think about is that communities like Big Sky are built around the tourism and hospitality industry and powered entirely by middle- and lower-income workers. Big Sky, Montana faces a severe affordable housing shortage, with the Big Sky Community Housing Trust estimating a deficit of around 1,350 homes by 2028, impacting local workers and families.
Riverview Apartments in Big Sky, Montana, is a 25-unit new construction affordable housing community for families. The development provides one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments to families earning between 30%-80% of the Area Median Income. The development has a management staff on site and includes a community room and picnic area for residents to enjoy. The community is set right in the heart of downtown. There are also nearby walking paths. In the units, residents are provided central A/C, a balcony or patio, dishwashers, microwaves, ranges, refrigerators, walk-in closets, in unit washer and dryers, and storage closets.
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Riverview Apartments is part of a larger housing project, RiverView Place, which will have a combination of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units and will house 387 people. This development project includes both market rate and affordable units, is located within walking distance of Town Center, and has easy access to Highway 64 and the Big Sky Social Impact Hub, which offers affordable office and meeting space for local nonprofits.
Not only will Riverview Apartments bring 25 new affordable homes for families to the community, it also represents a unique public-private partnership solution to create and preserve affordable housing for working people in cities and towns across the country that rely on hospitality and the services industry.
The development is located in a lightly populated resort town that lacks economic diversity, with primary employment being in the hospitality and recreation industry. Big Sky and other resort communities like it used to have a decent amount of affordable housing a decade ago, but the rise of remote work combined with wealthier residents from the coasts moving to more rural areas has pushed available housing to the brink.
Of the approximately 8,000 workers who make up the labor force in Big Sky, about 80% commute, according to the town. And as housing costs have skyrocketed across the Gallatin Valley, a number of those commuters are traveling two hours or more to get to work from places as far away as Helena and Butte.
Enter the Big Sky Community Housing Trust, a public-private entity focused on making housing more affordable. The Chamber of Commerce initiated the Big Sky Community Housing Trust in 2016, and in 2020 the Housing Trust became an independent nonprofit with a mission to provide affordable and stable homes for residents serving the Big Sky community.By providing housing to a large portion of their seasonal employees, the area’s two main employers, Big Sky Resort and Lone Mountain Land Company, successfully reduced some of the strain on the market.
“There’s a pretty significant gap between what the market is able to provide and the affordability levels that is required by our workforce,” said David O’Connor, the executive director of the Big Sky Community Housing Trust.
O’Connor said addressing the need for affordable housing is critical to keeping the community running. “We’re finding really serious challenges among the organizations that really make the community tick, such as the fire department, school, the hospital, all of those essential positions are really where we’re feeling the need most,” said O’Connor.
The latest Big Sky Community Housing Needs Assessment indicates that 80% of those who work in the resort town do not earn enough to afford market rate housing, leading many to seek alternatives elsewhere.
Riverview Apartments was designed with livability in mind, including the location, which is within walking distance of Town Center and a planned pedestrian underpass to be constructed this summer. The project will also include a new Skyline bus stop, enclosed bike storage, picnic pavilions, solar panels, and new trail extensions that connect to the existing Big Sky Community Organization network.
During the ribbon cutting ceremony, Housing Trust Executive Director David O’Connor concluded a long list of thank-yous by thanking the new residents. “If you’re a resident of Riverview, please raise your hand,” O’Connor said, and the audience clapped for Bostic, Mendez and a few others in attendance. “You are the reason that we did this… On behalf of the Housing Trust, Big Sky community and all these partners, please accept our welcome home.”
