Twin Bridges received $400,000 for an affordable housing project from the Montana Department of Commerce

On Dec. 4 the Montana Department of Commerce announced that The Town of Twin Bridges will receive an award of $400,000 through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in support of the Twin Bridges Community and School Foundation’s project to construct the Four Rivers fourplex. The project is designed to provide housing for teachers working at the Twin Bridges School District according to Jim Jarvis, the housing coordinator for Madison County. 

“The Four Rivers Fourplex Project in Twin Bridges will consist of four 2-bedroom rental units, approximately 1150 SF each,” explained Jarvis. “The proposed location is a one third acre vacant parcel owned by the Twin Bridges School District at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Madison Street, one block off of Main Street.  Upon completion, hopefully in late-2026, the facility will be owned and managed by the school district as housing for school staff and local low to moderate income residents of the community.”

The $400,000 grant will not quite cover half of the estimated cost of developing the property according to Jarvis. 

“The project is estimated to cost approximately $1.0 million, not including the value of the donated school district land,” Jarvis explained. “As proposed, the project will be funded by a $400,000 CDBG Housing grant recently awarded to the Town, private donations from local supporters, and a below market rate construction loan through a local financial institution.  Per the preliminary operating budget, the four 2-bedroom units will rent for $1125 per month with two of the units reserved for use by school staff and the other two available for low to moderate income residents of the community. Monthly rent for the units is calculated to ensure affordability for low to moderate income tenants and service the project's long term construction debt and operating costs. To reduce construction costs and the project's timeline, the project will rely on off-site modular building technology and local contractors for site improvements.”

The project is part of an ongoing effort by Madison County to find solutions to the lack of affordable housing in the community that dates back to at least 2018 according to Jarvis. 

“Since 2018, due to significant growth pressures, the Madison County Housing Advisory Board has been concerned about the diminishing supply of affordable housing options in Madison County,’ explained Jarvis. “During the 2022-23 period, the Board, with support from county commissioners, prepared a Housing Needs Assessment to document actual housing conditions on the ground. This comprehensive planning report, based on a detailed analysis of census data, a review of successful affordable housing practices used elsewhere in Montana, and interviews with local stakeholders and community members, made several general recommendations, including creation of a local housing coordinator/advocate position.  As proposed, the Housing Coordinator would work with county organizations and local communities to identify strategies to encourage the development of affordable housing projects, tailored to the specific needs of major employers and the communities.”

“In 2024, I was retained in that capacity and began working with the Housing Board to refine those general recommendations into specific actions, culminating in the 2025 Housing Action Plan for Madison County.  A principal action item that emerged was the opportunity to work with local communities to find land and funding to develop a series of small scale, community-based housing ‘pilot’ projects intended to increase the supply of affordable rental units for the local workforce.”

“In early 2025, I was approached by a representative from the Twin Bridges School and Community Foundation, Dan Wheeler, the current president of the foundation. He informed me of a housing project they had been exploring for several years to address a severe shortage of housing for school teachers in their community. They had identified a need, land, and a design for the development, but lacked funding, and asked if I could help them. I remember being very excited about the proposal, as it seemed to be a perfect fit for what we had been discussing and agreed to bring it to the attention of the Housing Board. The board was equally enthusiastic, and they encouraged me to assist the community in finding funding to construct the project, as our first local test case and learning opportunity.”

For Jarvis, the Twin Bridges project is more than a collection of wins for the people who have stepped forward to make the project a reality, it is a concrete example of how these projects can come together in the rest of the county too. 

“The project likely wouldn’t have gotten to this point without having a well-established and important need, in this case limited housing for local school teachers, strong community support led by the foundation and backed by the school district and town council,” Jarvis stated before going on to list additional factors that contributed to the project. “There was a parcel of land in public ownership with convenient access to utilities, availability of state and federal financial incentives, generous private donors, support of the Madison County Housing Advisory Board, and the willingness of the school district to manage and operate the facility upon completion.  In many ways everyone was asked to step outside of their typical comfort zone to help make this project happen.”

“Development of community-based affordable housing facilities is difficult in today’s economic climate, especially in rural areas with limited resources - but not impossible,” he states when asked what other municipalities can learn from the success in Twin Bridges. “The most important step is to ‘get the conversation going’ at the local level to identify a specific housing need or objective and a parcel of land well-suited to development.  Seeking the support of partners, especially unfamiliar groups and organizations from throughout the area, is vital to the sustainability of the effort. I have been continually impressed by the range of talents present in our various communities.  In general, I find there are numerous financial incentives available at the state and federal level, including grants, low-interest loans, and tax credits, to support affordable housing projects, but a significant amount of legwork is needed to qualify and compete for these programs.  For that reason, most of these incentives have traditionally gone to Montana’s larger communities with more staff resources.”

Jarvis is committed to making this project just the beginning for affordable housing efforts in Madison County. 

“I believe these efforts can be duplicated and tailored to the specific needs and opportunities present in communities throughout the county.  As described in the Housing Action Plan, that is the expressed hope and intent of the Housing Board, and motivation for creating the Housing Coordinator position. The full Plan will be available for review on the Madison County website under the Affordable Housing Resources page.  The Housing Board hopes to identify another community-based housing project in the county over the next few months,” he concluded.