Project Summary

The City of Missoula and Missoula County received title to the Federal Building on January 5, 2023. The historic Federal Building at 200 E. Broadway, is one of Missoula’s most important landmarks and a critical part of Missoula’s Downtown. Missoula received the property at no cost, in exchange for a commitment to maintain the building as a National Historic Monument.

On November 6, 2023, Mayor Jordan Hess and County Commissioners Juanita Vero, Dave Strohmaier, and Josh Slotnick officially renamed the former federal building as the John Engen Local Government Building. The City and County plan to rehabilitate the Engen Building to provide a single central hub for public services. The project should simultaneously save and rehabilitate this invaluable building, enhance Downtown, and provide better service to the public.

City and County Collaboration

The City and County worked together to create the Missoula Local Government Building Special District to own the Engen Building. The Special District encompasses only the Engen Building property, and it is jointly administered by the City and the County. A staff presentation to City Council on December 5, 2022, summarized the purpose of the Special District and the process that led to ownership of the building.

Dollars and Cents

The City faces a critical space shortage that hampers its ability to best serve Missoulians. City Hall was last expanded in 1989, when the population of Missoula was only 43,000; today our population is 75,000. Additionally, many components of City Hall are nearing the end of their service life. As a result, the City is going to have to invest resources in its physical plant. The City has determined that rehabilitation of the building will be more cost effective than either trying to expand and improve City Hall or building a new City Hall from scratch, while also preserving an important Downtown landmark in perpetuity.

The City and County estimate that getting the Engen Building ready for reuse will cost $14 to $16 million. This first “backbone” phase of rehabilitation will include abatement of asbestos, replacement of obsolete systems such as heating, plumbing and electrical, sustainability investments, ADA access and other improvements necessary to make the building functional.