Vision taking shape for rail corridor

At the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon on Tuesday, Kalispell officials will give an overview of ongoing work to draft a core area revitalization plan for the city’s railroad corridor.

CTA Architects and Engineers, hired to illustrate the plan’s themes and goals, will show photos of the 365-acre corridor as it is today, then colorful renderings of how it could look in 30 years.

Picture the railroad tracks gone, crosstown bike and walking path put in and new north-south street connections to help ease traffic congestion because only six streets cross the tracks now.

Other possibilities include more sidewalks, green space and landscaping; hotels and restaurants; a parking lot or garage; mixed-use buildings with second- and third-floor housing and first floor retail.

After years of Kalispell growing outward, the goal is infill: formerly industrial land redeveloped into a livable and walkable urban core that functions as a strong asset for the adjacent downtown.

“You see that play out and go, ‘Wow, this could be something,’” Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz said.

The core area revitalization plan remains in its draft, public comment stages. But the goal is to have it finalized and sent to the Kalispell City Council for adoption by year’s end.

“The focus of our presentation is not to say, ‘Here it is,’” Jentz said. “It’s to show people what we’ve come up with. What are your comments? Have we missed something? What do we need to refine or improve?”

A $175,000 areawide planning grant started the process 18 months ago. Kalispell was one of 23 cities to get funding from the pilot EPA program.

Planning staffers first assessed the core area. It follows the railroad tracks across the city, bordered by Washington Street to the north and First Street to the south.

They found about 20 acres of vacant land and buildings, two dozen potential Brownfield sites, old water and sewer lines, little to no green space, spotty sidewalks and few streets crossing the tracks. They also found a shortage of rail-based businesses in what was once the city’s industrial core.

“We identified some problems and issues in our judgment, and then went out to ask the community about its concerns,” Jentz said.

Staffers interviewed dozens of core area property owners. They held open houses. A volunteer steering committee formed to help guide the process. Recently, the core area revitalization plans were displayed at the Flathead County Fairgrounds, which abuts the core area and is working on its own vision for the future.

“We went out with a clean slate. Overwhelmingly, we heard people say the railroad tracks need to go, we need to beautify this area, green it up, get some of the blighted buildings out of here, open up access,” Jentz said.

“This plan could have just as easily found we need to firm up the railroad and consolidate land to bring bigger industrial users in. That’s not the direction it took.”

REMOVING THE railroad tracks has been talked about for years as the number of businesses using them has shrank from several dozen to two or three.

But the new 40-acre Flathead County Rail Park being planned for the old McElroy and Wilken gravel pit property on Whitefish Stage Road makes planning to remove the tracks more doable than ever.

The Flathead County Economic Development Authority bought the land for the rail park in February and aims to offer businesses shovel-ready sites within a year or two.

“That really drove a stake in the ground that says this can and will happen,” Jentz said of the rail park.

It also means Kalispell no longer has to choose between keeping or growing its rail industry and taking steps to remove the rail to create a more accessible and vibrant core. It can do both, said Katharine Thompson, the city’s community development director.

“Where the railroad was laid 120 years ago is no longer servicing Kalispell well, and it is no longer servicing the rail well. Kalispell grew up and sort of strangled the tracks, just as the tracks have sort of strangled the town.”

AFTER THE chamber luncheon, Kalispell will hold another round of open houses in search of more public opinion.

“If people can’t make the luncheon or open houses, we will go meet with them at their home, their place of business, here at City Hall,” said Sean Conrad, Kalispell’s senior planner.

Meanwhile, with a $31,500 grant from Montana Department of Commerce, Kalispell is hiring a consultant to do a core area market analysis and add a serious feasibility component to the plan.

The consultants will generate cost estimates for infrastructure projects, removing the railroad tracks, relocating the businesses that use them, putting in a bike trail and other targeted work.

They also will explore potential funding sources and tools for the city and developers to make the community’s vision a reality.

“That will be a big chunk of the plan,” Thompson said of the market analysis.

The core area revitalization plan will be a guiding document, a “what could be” not a strict “what will be,” based on themes and goals the community supports, Jentz said.

At Tuesday’s luncheon, Kalispell officials will touch on some developments under way in the core area, signs of incremental change that may help build momentum in the future.

Along Center Street, the Loading Dock is being remodeled into a new pub and restaurant. Two blocks up the street, construction should start soon on Depot Place, a 40-unit affordable housing apartment building for seniors. Both will be developed on properties that were sitting vacant.

“When we were at the fairgrounds they had their future plans and we had our plans for the core area, and it really dovetails together,” Jentz said.

“You start getting these things happening, these moving pieces coming together. That’s where it really starts getting exciting, because now there’s going to be some investment and you’ll see some change over time. And that encourages more people to move forward.”

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.