Baker, Montana - No housing slump here! Developers needed!
Reader Comments
| May 21, 2008 |  View for printing |
But there is a business slump because we do not have enough housing. Baker, Montana http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker,_Montana , home of oil field activity since 1937 is in desperate need of private and rental housing units. For the past 5 years more than 200 workers in the Baker area have lived as far away as 80 miles and driven to work every day. Recently the housing situation moved from the serious realm to the desperate realm.
The reason for this change in status is due to the work of the Baker’s SMART organization.(Southeastern Montana Revitalization Team- a non-profit org,) SMART has been instrumental in Securing State infrastructure grants and county funding to construct water and sewer lines in an industrial park North of town. Phase one of this multi-million dollar project will start in June or July. A trunk line will be built running several miles north of the city and will hook up to the city system. The urgency of this trunk line is do to the plans of one of the five largest oil companies in the US which is planning to building a business hub here in Baker. This building will be office space for 25 non-local mid-level company officials. We will need new houses for them and their families.
In regards to the oil field workers I am told we need a minimum of 12 duplexes like last year. If construction were to start on these, people in the know say “they would be rented before the first shovel of dirt was dug”. To accommodate these, one of the local investors has purchased land adjacent to the city limits and built the infrastructure himself. He has another 30 acres that are undeveloped as far as water and sewer. There are 14 large lots ready to go with sewer and water.
We may have one local investor willing to build up to 8 of the needed duplexes. We have another investor who purchased 120 acres west of town and adjacent to the city limits. He has sub-divided several acres adjacent to town into lot size parcels.
He had hoped the city would annex and build the infrastructure but the city declined as it didn’t have the funds.
What Baker really needs are investor/developers to come to Baker, asses the possibilities, and see if they can improve their bottom line by working in eastern Montana.
If you're interested or know someone who may be interested, please contact:
SMART
Roger Grammond
406-778-2020 -office
406-978-2040- cell
Reader Comments:
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I have a mobile unit that has six bedrooms two showers and a kitchen for lease on your site.720-225-7319 --Ken
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