Front Step Community Land Trust, formerly the North Missoula Community Development Corporation, told Missoula County Commissioners that its shift from a neighborhood-focused nonprofit to a broader housing developer aims to preserve affordable homeownership across the city and its urban fringe.

"The change in our work preceded the need to change our name," said Britney Palmer, director of Front Step Community Land Trust. Palmer described the organization’s expansion beyond the Northside to projects in Franklin, The Fort, River Road and the West Side, and said the new name better reflects that wider service area.

Palmer outlined the community land trust model: the nonprofit acquires land and either develops housing itself or partners with others, invests subsidy up front so buyers purchase homes at reduced prices, and retains permanent ownership of the land under a long-term ground lease. "Front Step retains ownership of the land itself," she said, adding that the ground lease term is 75 years and renewable.

That structure, Palmer said, keeps subsidy with the home rather than allowing the full value to be realized on the open market. Front Step’s homes are typically priced under $200,000 for two- and three-bedroom units; the organization charges a ground lease fee of $30 per month. Palmer described a resale formula that allows homeowners to take 1.5% in annual "unearned appreciation" plus mortgage paydown when they sell, while preserving affordability for the next buyer.

The Burn Street development on Missoula’s West Side provided a concrete example. "A lot of people are familiar with Burn Street because of the commercial building... The housing development right next door is 17 condos," Palmer said; she estimated the project finished around 2009 and that units in that development have sold for about $200,000 depending on size.

Palmer said Front Step maintains an interest list of more than 300 households for affordable homes; for a recently sold three-bedroom unit at Burn Street, eight households on that list were shortlisted after meeting financing requirements. "They're competitive, but it's also... realistic," she said.

Palmer also described Front Step’s work creating limited-equity housing cooperatives on CLT land. In that model, residents own shares in a cooperative that owns the building while Front Step retains the land, a structure Palmer said helps preserve affordability and prevent future sales to the highest bidder. The organization has transitioned two properties to resident-owned co-ops and said the model was used to keep an eight-unit building, described as naturally occurring affordable housing, from converting to higher-market rents after it went up for sale in 2021.

Palmer outlined how acquisition and renovation are managed: property surveys, unit inspections, acquisition budgets that include immediate repairs, and a 20-year capital needs plan. Residents sell their cooperative share if they leave; the cooperative self-governs with a resident board and typically hires a property management company.

On pricing and subsidy, Palmer said Front Step uses an affordability formula tied to area median income (AMI) rather than construction cost. "The gap between what it costs to build and what people can afford is the subsidy that we need," she said. She named common subsidy sources discussed in Missoula projects: federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars, local affordable housing trust funds, Missoula Redevelopment Agency (MRA) funds and newer local housing innovation funds established by partners such as NeighborWorks Montana and the Missoula Economic Partnership. She also said the recent Montana legislative session increased a funding pot through the state Board of Housing.

Palmer described how AMI limits vary by funding source: city affordable-housing trust funds may limit eligibility to 120% AMI, MRA funds to about 140% AMI, and certain federal dollars to 80% AMI. She said Front Step generally focuses subsidy on households earning roughly 80% to 120% AMI but noted it can structure projects for other income bands depending on the funding mix.

On geography, Palmer said Front Step's stated service area is Missoula and its urban fringe (areas likely to be annexed), but the organization would consider county projects if land and subsidy were available. She referenced partnerships and referrals to statewide groups such as Trust Montana when projects fall outside Front Step’s capacity.

Palmer said Front Step also runs policy and community work, including Pro Housing Missoula, a coalition that has advocated for city zoning reform to encourage more housing of varying types across neighborhoods. "We don't think the best use of our subsidy is subsidizing housing for people earning 200% of the area median income," Palmer said, describing a strategy that pairs subsidy, increased supply and tenant protections.

Palmer recommended Shane Phillips’ book The Affordable City as framing for a multi-pronged approach to housing that includes supply, subsidy and stability. She closed with a community invitation: local housing organizations will host a "housing night" at the PaddleHeads game on July 17, with tickets available via a special link.

The interview with Commissioner Dave Strohmeyer and Commissioner Juanita Vero ran as part of The Agenda with the Missoula County Commissioners. The discussion focused on Front Step’s models and projects rather than any formal county action.