Missoula Opens New Affordable Housing Complexes

Despite the opening of two new affordable housing complexes, households in Missoula, Montana are feeling the crunch as housing becomes harder to find. As Keila Szpaller reports in

Route Fifty, “Affordable homes are in high demand, especially in Montana’s larger cities,” with many residents paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing, or what the federal government describes as ‘cost burdened.’

Describing one new project, Villagio, Szpaller writes that “An estimated 1,000 people signed the interest list for the 200 apartments, or five households for every single unit, according to the Missoula Housing Authority, managing the building.” Another complex brings the total number of new units opened this year to 402.

The housing authority is struggling to keep up with demand for affordable units as the city’s average rents grew by nearly 12 percent last year. “The Villagio serves people who make up to 60% AMI. It also has 32 vouchers that help people from zero income to up to 50% of the area median income.”