FAQs

Parking will be handled in the same way that it has always been managed for the City and the County, as well as for the Federal Building. For members of the public with a quick errand—and for visitors needing ADA parking—there will be dedicated, short-term parking on adjacent streets. Visitors needing to stay longer will find on-street metered parking, on-street free parking or a space in one of the two downtown parking structures. The building is also accessible via public transportation.

City employees are not currently provided with parking and will not be at the Federal Building. County employees have limited parking scattered throughout downtown, and this will continue. The current parking situation for the City and County is adequate, and a three-block move does not justify new expenditures.

The City and County explored development of a parking structure near the Federal Building to accommodate visitors and employees. We concluded:

1. on-street parking can accommodate the public just as it currently does for visitors to City Hall, the County Courthouse and the Administrative Building; 
2. the cost of building a parking structure is excessive; and 
3. surface lot parking is expensive, contraindicated by the Downtown Master Plan and detrimental to the development of downtown. Current national estimates are that above-ground structures cost between $21,000 and $25,000 per space, suggesting that a 300-space garage would cost on the order of $7.5 million. (Below-ground structures cost $30,000 to $50,000 per space.) This is not a wise use of public dollars.

The City and County have identified multiple funding options to explore prior to considering tax funding. These include: realized lease savings, sales of existing City properties and buildings, federal grants, expansion of urban renewal districts and other mechanisms. General fund revenues and property assessments will be considered among the suite of funding options. 

One thing to keep in mind is that City and County office space is already inadequate to serve the public. As a result, the City anticipates spending more than $7 million on lease space between now and 2034 if alternative spaces are not acquired or constructed. So the choice before the City is, “Will we devote our space needs budget to restoring the Federal Building, or will we spend the same or more money on lease space and an aging City Hall structure?”

The City and County strongly support a continued downtown post office. However, the City and County need to evaluate best use of the Federal Building as a whole to understand whether or how to incorporate the Post Office in the rehabilitated building. The City and County are pursuing a lease agreement with the Postal Service to keep them in the Federal Building while we plan for future use of the building.

Regardless of whether the Post Office remains in place, the City and County will retain the significant historic elements of the Post Office lobby.

There is no cost to the City or County for acquiring the Federal Building. We estimate that the value of the building is approximately $14 to $17.5 million. In exchange for receiving the building free of charge, the City and County will commit to preserving the significant historic aspects of the building, with oversight by the National Park Service.

Making the Federal Building usable for the public and for employees will require substantial rehabilitation. Current estimates are that a first construction phase to address obsolete building systems and make the building habitable will cost $14 to $16 million Those costs are significantly offset by savings on leased space.

If the City and County hadn't accepted the Federal Building it likely would have been auctioned and sold to the highest bidder. 

The City and County believe an auction would have been extremely risky for the Federal Building and downtown. It is unlikely that any local developer would have had the capacity to submit high bid, redevelop and preserve the building. It was probable that at auction the building would be acquired by an outside entity that values the location rather than structure. This auction would have risked demolition of the building or continued vacancy for years into the future.

The Federal Building is a community treasure. It is fortunate that local government was able to acquire and preserve this important building.  

The City will canvas the community and consider a range of options for City Hall during redevelopment of the Federal Building. Options we’ll consider will include, at minimum, sale of the site; public-private redevelopment of the site; and public retention and redevelopment. Similarly, the City will consider a range of options for the City-owned building at 140 W. Pine St. that hosts City Council Chambers and the Missoula Redevelopment Agency; the most likely outcome for this building is sale for redevelopment. Missoula County would similarly assess various options for the future of its currently owned buildings, including the County Administration building at 199 West Pine St.

Great question! Here is what the 1979 nomination of the building to the National Register of Historic Places said, in part:

The Federal Building/Post Office/Courthouse is a series of additions, annexes, and extensions to an original building situated at the corner of Broadway and Pattee streets in Missoula, Montana. Comprising approximately two-thirds of a city block, the 1911 - 1913 building and its annexes continue the low horizontal movements set forth in the Italian Renaissance Revival form. Located just one block from the central business core, the building and its associated activity incorporates functionality and a distinct architectural statement to provide an ongoing living history in the midst of Missoula's commercial scene.... “A handsome structure, an ornament to the city" was the description afforded this building by The Daily Missoulian newspaper on November 4, 1912. Similar accolades would still be applicable to the Italian Renaissance Revival Federal Building/Post Office/Courthouse as it stands 65 years later. It continues to project a commanding federal presence in the heart of Missoula which is a regional trading center for western Montana, northern Idaho, and eastern Washington.

The Missoula Local Government Building Special District owns the building. The Special District is a joint creation of the City and the County and is governed jointly by the two entities. 

The Downtown Master Plan calls for the City and County to pursue colocation at the Federal Building. (Action 2.1, page 7.4) The Master Plan implicitly acknowledges that City Hall is inadequate and identifies the Federal Building as the preferred location for City services. (Page 2.60)

Current estimates are that planning and the first phase of construction will take at least two years.  We anticipate moving into the building in 2025.

When City Hall was last expanded, in 1989, the City had a population of only 43,000. As of 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the City serves a population of 75,000. In other words, the City is approaching having doubled in size while having kept the size of City Hall constant. Despite every effort to achieve efficiencies, with increases in population come proportional increases in demand for services: fire and police protection for more people in a larger area; more linear feet of streets and sewer to maintain; more parks to maintain and manage; more building permits applied for; more vulnerable citizens in need of help; more Municipal Court cases. The result has been diminished work- space quality, hampered public service and the ad hoc use of a hodgepodge of owned and rented spaces to house City offices.

The City has delayed the acquisition of more space as long as possible, but the mounting costs and inefficiencies of leasing downtown office space—and the immediate need to add two Municipal Court courtrooms—has made acquiring new space a necessity.