Motels fill a critical housing niche in Montana's booming mountain resort region known as "Big Sky" outside Yellowstone Park: they house area workers as well as guests. While the rooms are shared to reduce costs, dangerous commuting is eliminated.
"Faced with a severe housing shortage for its workers, at least two resorts, the Yellowstone Club and Big Sky Resorts, picked an unusual solution. Each bought a motel it intended to continue operating for travelers, as well as for housing workers and contractors."
"Soaring land prices and building costs have put the price of housing far beyond the reach of many new resort and construction workers." But there's a catch - the rooms aren't free.
"The employees will receive discounts on rooms, which rent for $100 to $150 a night depending on the season. Who gets those discounts and how much they amount to depend on what a worker's 'job is and how much we need them,' said Dax Schieffer, public relations manager for Big Sky Resorts."
"Many workers are choosing to double or triple up to save money, which can make for lively, if cramped, quarters."
"Considering the area's isolation, limited public transportation, narrow roads, and treacherous winter weather, the new housing is expected to save lives by allowing more workers to avoid a potentially dangerous daily commutes from Bozeman, 32 miles away."
Read the full story: Big Sky Journal: Boom in the Mountains Creates a Housing Shortage
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Colorado’s Largest Data Center Could Rise Next to Homes — Without a Public Hearing
The proposed campus would consume 11 times the power of Denver International Airport; as it has across the country, opposition mounts.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
'This is going to be painful:’ Virginia stares down $1.7 billion funding gap for highway maintenance
The state may address the deficit by shifting $290 million from its construction budget to maintenance projects.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello