Fowler Ave Community Housing

Thank you to everyone who has been engaged with this project and provided feedback! As a recap on what happened on August 12: the City Commission discussed the Fowler Housing project and decided to move forward with annexing the land from Gallatin County into the City and creating a housing development that fits in with the surrounding neighborhood. Additionally, Commissioners all signaled support for moving forward with a consensus process. During this process, various stakeholders from the surrounding neighborhood to renters who want to buy a home, and from housing nonprofits to businesses wanting to support the local workforce, will all be given an equal voice in decision-making, allowing us to move forward collaboratively.

On Jan. 6, you will see a consent item on our City Commission agenda related to the consensus process. The City is bringing on Diane Groves with Whole System Performance, a professional who has helped the Bozeman School District through other consensus-building processes. There are still many decisions left to be made during this next phase, such as what types of structures get built, how tall they are, how many units end up getting built, how much parking is allocated, and so much more. The designs that people have seen the city put forth thus far are just that - drawings to get people thinking about what this could look like, not decisions of what will be, and we look forward to visualizing this further with you all during the consensus process.

Owning this parcel of land gives the City a unique opportunity to be creative in how we can meet housing needs in our community. We hope that this collaborative method of engagement will set us up to have the best results that all can look on and be proud of, while also building stronger relationships between the City, neighborhoods, nonprofits, and businesses. You can expect to hear more information about next steps in the consensus process as soon as the contract is approved. If you have any questions in the meantime, don't hesitate to reach out.

We've been here, we've been there, and now we're back on Engage with our own Fowler Housing page to cover all things about the project.

If you missed the open house in June, feel free to take a look at the display boards and send us your questions!

There will be a work session at City Commission on Tuesday, August 12 at 6pm to discuss the next steps of annexation and zoning. To provide input, you're invited to join us at City Hall or online, or email comments@bozeman.net at any time.

Thanks for sticking with us as we consider what engagement looks like for this project. Be sure to click subscribe to stay up-to-date with any future announcements or engagement opportunities.

From May 20, 2025

Join us to learn about the proposed annexation and for-sale affordable housing project planned between W. Oak Street and Farmall Street.

Our project team members will be available to provide updates, answer your questions, and hear your feedback! There will be no formal presentation - drop in anytime during either session at your convenience. Both session will feature the same information.

Session One
June 4 from 12:00 to 1:30pm
Fire Station No. 3 (1705 Vaquero Pkwy)

Session Two
June 4 from 6:00 to 7:00pm
Emily Dickinson School Gym (2435 Annie St.)

From December 10, 2024

If you're interested in the Fowler Avenue Connection, you might be aware that the possibility exists for using some city-owned lands next to the street for affordable housing. While this housing effort is separate from the street project, you may be interested in learning more about an item on tonight's City Commission agenda. Under Consent, item F6 is a task order that would allow our consultant, Sanbell, to provide planning services for the annexation and zoning of City-owned property along Fowler Avenue. That means that our consultant in the coming months will be helping to establish how the property gets zoned and annexed, and we want our community to get involved in this effort early on and be a part of that process.

This property was purchased by the City over 10 years ago and is currently a part of Gallatin County. If the item passes and the work is performed, we will eventually have the rare opportunity to solicit proposals from developers on how they would create affordable housing on this property. Annexation and zoning by the city instead of selling the land directly to developers allows the public to lead on important zoning proposals that would typically be the responsibility of the developer. The possibilities are open at this point, and we want to create housing that our community feels excited about. That's why it's important to be aware now - establishing zoning will provide a framework for what types of housing proposals eventually get submitted.

If you're interested, stay tuned for more information shared through this platform on how to get involved in future engagement on this topic. We look forward to collaborating with you in the new year!