Northside Parks
On July 8th, 2025, Missoula Parks and Recreation Board voted to adopt the master plans for the New park on N. Scott Street and the Northside Park & Northside Park Annex and supporting narrative. Thank you to all who took part in the master planning process!
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Northside neighborhood is growing, and so is the need for parks and park amenities that are walkable for residents. The city acquired land for a new 5.4-acre park at Scott and Rogers Streets, which will serve the growing neighborhood and replace White Pine Park. The neighborhood was in need of additional parkland before the construction of the Villagio (200 units) and Ravara (220 units/Mixed Use). Planning work for the new park was considered hand-in-hand with planning for the existing parks in the Northside.
EXISTING PARKS IN THE NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD
Existing parks include Northside Park, the Northside Park Annex (also referred to as Northside Ballfield), and White Pine Park. Existing amenities at Northside Park and Northside Park Annex include a softball diamond, basketball court, picnic shelter, playground, currently inoperable splash pad, restrooms, and the Northside Community Gardens (managed by Garden City Harvest). Several of these facilities are in need of near-term replacement.
White Pine Park currently includes a playground, picnic tables, and a soccer field. A portion of White Pine Park is being developed as part of the Scott Street Ravara Development in order to better connect street grids. The remaining ~2.25 acres is encumbered by a large sewer main that limits construction of typical park amenities.
NEW PARK ON NORTH SCOTT STREET
The City is replacing White Pine Park with a new 5.4-acre park bounded by Scott, Rogers, Otis, and Shakespeare Streets in order to provide a park that is larger, with full amenities, and which better distributes parkspace within a 10-minute walk of residents. The location for the park was identified in and aligns with the adopted North Reserve Scott Street Urban Renewal District (URD) Plans and neighborhood goals for walkability and services. Funding for parcel acquisition was a combination of the 2018 Open Space Bond and tax increment financing through the URD and in partnership with the Missoula Redevelopment Agency. The City worked with the previous landowner, Resurrection Cemetery Association (RCA), for several years before acquiring the parcels for the park in Summer 2025. Design development will begin in Summer 2025 and construction will start in 2026 or 2027.
NORTHSIDE PARKS DESIGN WORKSHOPS
Parks and Recreation, along with the city's Office of Neighborhoods, held two design workshop for the Northside parks in September and November at Lowell Elementary. Parks and Recreation staff gave a presentation about the Northside's parks and the efforts for more park space and park amenities in the Northside. Participants outlined what they valued in the existing park spaces, words to describe the spaces when complete, amenities and qualities that different interest groups would value in the spaces, and questions to be answered. Following these group discussions, participants worked in groups to create designs for each park - Northside Park, Northside Park Annex, and the new park on North Scott Street. Summary notes from the workshops are posted in the documents of this page or by clicking here. Copies of the designs created by each group during the workshops can be found in the documents of this page.
DRAFT MASTER PLANS, OPEN HOUSE, AND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Open House on March 26th or filled out the online survey to give your input on the draft master plans for the Northside Parks! A summary of public input is posted here. The feedback was used to create the final master plans for the New park on N. Scott Street and the Northside Park & Northside Park Annex. The Park and Recreation Board approved the plans, along with the Northside Parks Master Plans narrative, on July 8th, 2025.
RELATED PLANNING DOCUMENTS
- A portion of Northside was included within an Urban Renewal District in 2014 to help support redevelopment of the area, in alignment with the goals of the NRSS URD Plan (and later) the master plan.
- Phased implementation, until the district closes (likely in 2045)
- Adopted in 2016
- Conceptual road map to guide development, prioritize URD investments in transportation infrastructure, housing, businesses, and other land uses Guides public and private investment in the urban renewal district
Parks, Recreation, Open Space, and Trails statistically valid survey results
- Survey conducted in 2024 by the University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research to assess Missoulians' outlook and priorities for their parks, recreation programs and facilities, open spaces, and trails
Do you have a question about this project?
Questions posted here will be answered.
Thank you for your contribution!
Help us reach out to more people in the community
Share this with family and friends