Land in the the Billings Heights, which recently held pods from the Bakken oil fields, has been temporarily moved to a storage facility in preparation for construction on the LB Lofts expected to start this summer.
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Some speculated on social media that the pods were removed because of a code enforcement violation, but project leaders confirmed to MTN News it was because they're preparing for construction.
For two years, the pods sat on property on Sioux Lane between Lake Elmo Drive and Twin Oaks Drive, and they were gone by early last week, according to neighbors.
“A couple of weeks ago, I came back here,” said Dawn Cooley. “And I said, they're gone. Where did they go? ”
“It turned out to be a better design to remove them all than try to play Tetris essentially on site and move them around,” said Eric Schmidt, a High Plains Architects vice president and principal on the project.
Schmidt says the area needed to be cleared of all pods so the ground could be leveled and crews could work on infrastructure.
“Our plan was to maintain the pods as is,” Schmidt said while giving an update at the Housing Authority of Billings Development meeting at Homefront on Tuesday.
He showed a rendering of the ground floor that uses the pods surrounding other construction.
“I like to think of it like a like an Oreo sandwich,” Schmidt said. “The pods are the cookie, and we're building the creamy filling in between.”
Schmidt is leading the design of the $33 million LB Lofts project, partnered by HomeFront and the Housing Authority of Billings.
HomeFront first proposed repurposing modular housing pods into affordable housing in 2023.
“It's part of removing elements from the landfill stream,” said Schmidt.
But the project stalled, and neighbors started to complain.
The Billings City Council stepped in six months later, approving $1.4 million to help get the affordable housing project back on track.
“When you start getting over $1,000 or $1,200 for a monthly rent, that’s a lot of money when you have two or three kids,” said Council member Bill Kennedy in October.
And movement on this project could not come soon enough as some nearby residents complained to the City Council members in emails, saying the pods are an eyesore and may affect property values.
“It attracted different types of people into the neighborhood,” Miguel Gonzalez said in May. “So I've got to be a little bit more vigilant. ”
“Yeah, it's been there quite a while, and it just looks like it's a mess there,” Wendy Saunders said in May. “I feel that it needs to be moved. ”
Some said the empty pods were attracting the homeless, but others say they never saw anyone actually living in the pod.
“There weren't anybody by the streets and or sleeping in the in the ground or breaking into any of them,” said Cooley, whose son lives in the neighborhood. “It didn't look like it anyway.”
“It's actually untrue information,” Webster said about emails and posts about homeless people staying in the pods. “There have not been people living in the pods. There are no rodents in the pods, none of those things.”
Webster says while there have been delays, construction on 102 units is expected to start in August.
“It's been a hard-fought testament of our agency and of our developer and of our architect to bring all those pieces together,” Webster said.
Council member Denis Pitman is encouraged with the update and wants to ensure the project is affordable, sustainable, and that he can give his constituents a timeline.
“I think they're going to be guarded,” Pitman said about his constituency hearing about the update. “But at least now they've seen some progress and some working and some cooperation.”
“I'm quite excited about this project and the design,” Schmidt said. “And it'll be nice to complete this neighborhood.”
