Veteran housing project gets $833K funding boost from Missoula Co

Work to convert an old West Broadway motel into transitional housing for homeless veterans will receive an $833,000 funding boost from Missoula County, which is helping cover some of project's construction and design costs.

Commissioners discussed the move last week and made the county's contribution of American Rescue Plan Act funding official on Tuesday. “This funding specifically goes toward the acquisition of the property and some of the design work for the new facility,” said county grants administrator Heidi West. “It should be open, hopefully, by the end of next year.”

The Poverello Center in 2021 purchased the Clark Fork Inn using $1 million provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The original plan sought to rehabilitate the old motel but an architect has since determined that new construction would be more cost effective than rehabilitation.