Development in the valley is not an uncommon sight but there is one development under construction in south Bozeman that has some unique differences from a normal subdivision.
Jane Lee Banning and her husband always knew they wanted to move back and raise their family in Montana, but their image of what they would own changed.
“It's something that I feel like I have done 180 degrees on what I thought my future home in Montana would be like,” Banning said. “He was born and raised in Montana. We always knew we were coming back to Montana. His family is in Montana. He graduated from MSU. He's very much in Montana, and we figured that we'd have a couple of acres.”
The five-acre development will have 43 units with two units being set aside as affordable. Units range from $300,000 to $700,000. Around 40 families are expected to move in, and everyone who's moving in is playing a part in the design of the development.
“I'm a single person, except I'm owned by my dog and the two of us are going to live in an upstairs flat,” resident Marci Young said.
Banning who oversees the construction, will be one of the first families to move to her new townhomes in this first-of-its-kind development in the treasure state.
“There are no co-housing communities in Montana,” Banning said.
They say that there are some misconceptions when it comes to co-housing, like not having a kitchen or a yard.
“So, and we have, you know, everything that you would typically see in a normal residential home,” Banning said. “We have a full, fully, you know, functioning kitchen. We have our own backyard. It'll be, you know, fenced in. So we have private outdoors, aren't technically passive homes. They're really close."
Erik Bonnet is the architect of the development. He and his family will also move into the development he helped design.
“All the other people who want to live together to create our dream community, right? So, it's like designed for people who want community in their life,” Bonnet said.
They said their design focus also centered around sustainability in order to make them as close to net zero as possible.
“We have solar panels on the roof. And we've designed that. You know, you have thick insulation in the walls, almost twice the installation of a normal,” Bonnet said.
While it might not be the acreage she dreamt of, Banning says she's more excited now about the community her family will build together.
“I'd be able to let my kids go outside and like, go play. You know, it's your own private home,” Banning said.
Construction on the project is wrapping up soon and families are expected to start moving in around July, 4.
