HomeMy WebLinkAbout09_Neighborhood Study THRULINE PARTNERS i i
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July 10, 2026
Montana Avenue Project
316 N Montana Ave
NEIGHBORHOOD STUDY
316 N Montana Ave is located directly adjacent to the downtown Bozeman core with
Bozeman Creek running through the east side of the lot. There is an existing single-family
dwelling that has fallen into significant disrepair and is considered "an intrusive element" within
the neighborhood, per the historic review (Aug, 1984). That was over 40 years ago and the
condition of the existing home has not improved. The project includes demolition of the existing
dwelling.
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Image 1. 316 N Montana - Existing dwelling Image 2. 316 N Montana - Proposed dwelling
Three Story Rowhouse with ADU
The proposed project is the new construction of a three story (2) rowhouse dwelling with
a basement level studio accessory dwelling unit. The building has (2) two car garages on the
first level to provide the required on-site parking for both residences. The garages face an
interior shared access drive, not the street, to minimize their visual impact. The ADU is located
below a shared residential entry and stair. Modest windows and a two story front entry for the
ADU establish a human scale presence on N Montana Ave. This creates a welcoming character
that fits into the existing pattern of the neighborhood and allows for the occupants to have eyes
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on the street. The use of a front porch element, the repeated use of the same few window sizes,
and the simple and economical building form are all contemporary interpretations of the
traditional, modest home designs seen in northeast Bozeman.
316 N Montana Ave is part of the NENA neighborhood which stretches from North
Broadway Street to the east, North Grand Ave to the west, East Mendenhall Street to the south,
and North Oak Street to the north. This is a very large neighborhood that includes several
different zoning districts, which makes it one of the most unique and eclectic Bozeman
neighborhoods. There is no single style, building type, or building size, which is also what
makes it one of the most loved. For this Neighborhood Study, however, we have limited the
precedent reference projects to an approximately 4x4 block area from the project site and to
those within the same R-2 zoning.
Image 3. 320 N Montana Ave - Streetscape with proposed dwellings
As an older neighborhood that has been incrementally developed and re-developed,
there is quite a variety of how the houses relate to the street. Some homes are very close to the
street with parking and garages at the front of the building; some are accessed by a drive aisle;
some are set back in a yard; while others have a front entry that doesn't face the street. Our
project fits into this eclectic street pattern with a shared drive for garage access and the front of
the building close to the street. This is similar to many of the existing homes on the block and in
the neighborhood. The sidewalk, which is directly adjacent to N Montana Ave will be repaired or
replaced as needed to come into ADA compliance while continuing the existing streetscape
pattern.
The eclectic feeling of this old downtown neighborhood is well known and one of the
reasons this part of town is so desirable. Much of the housing and apartments were built well
before City development codes were widely implemented and redeveloped under the UDC
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THRULINE PARTNERS i i Fill I DESIGN TO BUILD
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when on-street parking counted towards parking requirements. The desirable density achieved
in the neighborhood is in part due to the variety of ways parking is managed. To the north of 316
N Montana is a 4-unit apartment building at 326 N Montana, which has no on-site parking,
garages, or alley access. An apartment building to the south at 312 N Montana has an off-street
parking lot that fronts the street. Several homes have parking spaces in the front yard and
setback and garages fronting the street. Our shared access drive, interior facing garages and
on-site parking are not out of character for the neighborhood nor create a unique condition that
would disrupt the existing parking and access pattern of the street.
There are no street trees on N Montana Ave due to the lack of a planting strip. The
existing trees are all within the property boundaries. Until last autumn, there were two mature
conifers and one deciduous tree in the front yard at 316 N Montana, but the northern conifer fell
on the existing house in a 60mph squall. We were planning to preserve and maintain all three
trees at the front of the new building, but with one having just fallen, we will need to evaluate the
health of the other conifer. The large deciduous tree on the north edge of the property will be too
close to the proposed house and will be removed during construction. The overgrown shrubs
will be trimmed and preserved as we are able. The owner will include new trees in the
post-construction landscaping. None of the trees along Bozeman Creek will be disturbed.
Building forms along N Montana and within the R-2 sections of the NENA neighborhood
are very eclectic. There is no single building style or pattern in the neighborhood. It is the
diversity and variety itself that creates continuity. N Montana Ave hosts Victorian, modern, and
rustic and eclectic styles of housing, complete with skis repurposed as fencing. The style of our
rowhouse project is simple and contemporary, which is similar to some of the other houses in
the neighborhood. Wide vertical siding, a shed roof design, and slender window and door trim
give it a clean, modern aesthetic, which fits right in with the eclectic nature and the existing
fabric of the street.
Our project has a 8:12 two story front roof and a 8:12 / 5:12 salt box roof at the three
story portion. These are very common roof types within the neighborhood and keep within the
traditional style. The highest point of the building's salt box roof is 35-10" with a more traditional
2'-0" roof overhang. The allowable building height of a roof pitch 3:12 or greater in the R-2
THRULINE PARTNERS 11 212 S. WALLACE AVE. STE. 301 BOZEMAN MT 59715 11 (406)414-7744
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THRULINE PARTNERS i i Fill I DESIGN TO BUILD
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zoning is 40'-0." The two story front portion of the building is 26'-6" which brings down the mass
and scale and helps to integrate it into the neighborhood. The 2-story apartment building, 312 N
Montana, to the south of 316 N Montana is 21'-6," close to our two story height. The building to
the north is one story, 326 N Montana. The 35-10" height of our building, however, is not at all
out of scale with the other houses on N Montana Ave. There are several two story homes with
heights greater than 30'-0"—the tallest being 422 N Montana (Image 5) at a height of
approximately 34'-0." 320 N Montana will be developed by the same owner as 316 and is also
planned as three stories. For a three story building, our project is a modest height, and very
much fits into the existing streetscape.
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Image 4. Proposed and precedent project location map
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There are several examples of three story buildings within the neighborhood which
further demonstrate how this project fits into the existing context. Located four blocks to the east
is 517 E Davis Street (Image 6). This is a very recently built three story single family home with
two prominent shed roofs. The shed roofs are pitched in two different directions to break up the
front and back portions of the large building footprint. The three story front facade is directly
adjacent to the street, without a one or two story building element or an entry porch or awning. A
change in siding is the only element used to identify the entry. The busyness of the siding, the
irregularity of window sizes, and the lack of a smaller scale front entry do not speak to our
design, but this project does show an approved three story house and how it is a part of the
eclectic design fabric of the neighborhood.
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Image 5. 422 N. Montana - Image 6. 517 E Davis Street- Three Story SFH
Approx. 34'-0" height SFH
One block to the east of our project site is 401 E Lamme Street (Image 7), which is a
three story duplex that is sighted in the City's Historical Design Guidelines for its use of
materials. This is a tall building with a steep gable roof form and feels very much at home in the
neighborhood. Just up the street is 404 N Rouse (Image 8), a recently completed three story
duplex. A two story front porch is the front wall of the building and emphasizes the two story
southern portion of the front facade, which is in plane with the three story northern portion. A
change in materials helps further bring down the scale of the three story front wall. 535 Perkins
Place (Image 9) is two blocks east of our project and another example of a three story residence.
This building lacks a two story front element, an offset garage, and cantilevers into the 35'
THRULINE PARTNERS 11 212 S. WALLACE AVE. STE. 301 BOZEMAN MT 59715 11 (406)414-7744
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Bozeman Creek watercourse setback, diverging from several of the code requirements and
design guidelines with which our project complies.
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Image 7. 401 E Lamme St- Image 8. 404 N Rouse Ave- Image 9. 535 Perkins Place -
Three Story Duplex Three Story Dublex Three Story SFH, no 2 story facade
The proposed project at 316 N Montana aligns with the City's growth policy vision of
Bozeman as a city bolstered by Downtown and other centers that are characterized by higher
densities and intensities of use. Only four blocks north of Main Street, 316 N Montana Ave is
about as close to downtown as one can get. The growth policy outlines several actions to
support the goal of urban development within the City that are relevant to this project. These
include removing regulatory barriers to infill, identifying underutilized, vacant, and undeveloped
sites for redevelopment, and encouraging increased development intensity in commercial
centers. The growth policy also recognizes the need to differentiate between development and
redevelopment and to allow relaxations of code provisions for developed parcels to allow
redevelopment to the full potential of their zoning district.
This project is an urban infill redevelopment project that, outside of one minor setback
deviation and the watercourse setback departure, meets all UDC code requirements. We are
not requesting any variances to code provisions or to bypass any regulations despite this being
a small site constrained by Bozeman Creek. But beyond meeting code requirements and being
in line with the growth policy, this Neighborhood Study shows that our project also meets the
spirit and intent of the historical guidelines. The thoughtful design and building position on the
lot, the application of contemporary details that reinterpret traditional materials, and the use of
scale and forms that are within the existing neighborhood make this a project that will contribute
to the character and feel of this much beloved neighborhood.
THRULINE PARTNERS 11 212 S. WALLACE AVE. STE. 301 BOZEMAN MT 59715 11 (406)414-7744
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