Missoula Opens New Affordable Housing Complexes

The city is adding hundreds of new housing units in an effort to ease the region’s housing crunch.

1 minute read

October 18, 2023, 8:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Street in downtown Missoula, Montana.

Downtown Missoula, Montana. | Danita Delimont / Adobe Stock

Despite the opening of two new affordable housing complexes, households in Missoula, Montana are feeling the crunch as housing becomes harder to find. As Keila Szpaller reports in

Route Fifty, “Affordable homes are in high demand, especially in Montana’s larger cities,” with many residents paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing, or what the federal government describes as ‘cost burdened.’

Describing one new project, Villagio, Szpaller writes that “An estimated 1,000 people signed the interest list for the 200 apartments, or five households for every single unit, according to the Missoula Housing Authority, managing the building.” Another complex brings the total number of new units opened this year to 402.

The housing authority is struggling to keep up with demand for affordable units as the city’s average rents grew by nearly 12 percent last year. “The Villagio serves people who make up to 60% AMI. It also has 32 vouchers that help people from zero income to up to 50% of the area median income.”

Tuesday, October 17, 2023 in Route Fifty

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Concrete Brutalism building with slanted walls and light visible through an atrium.

What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities

How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.

February 28, 2025 - Justin Hollander

Complete Street

‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge

Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.

February 27, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Green electric Volkswagen van against a beach backdrop.

The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan

Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.

March 3, 2025 - ABC 7 Eyewitness News

View of mountains with large shrubs in foreground in Altadena, California.

Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.

3 hours ago - Pasadena NOw

Aerial view of single-family homes with swimming pools in San Diego, California.

San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule

The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.

5 hours ago - Axios

Close-up of row of electric cars plugged into chargers at outdoor station.

Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives

A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.

March 9 - UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation