State puts plot of land in North Kalispell up for lease

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation is putting a 25-acre tract of State Trust Land up for lease in North Kalispell.

The Moraine Parcel is wedged between Stillwater Road and the U.S. 93 Bypass, north of Four Mile Drive. Because it is located on School Trust Land, the lease fees paid for use of the land will go toward funding Montana K-12 schools.  

The property is valued at $2.8 million, with a minimum lease rate of $140,000 annually. The state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation released a request for proposal on the property, which will remain open for 90 days. All responses must be submitted by June 24.  

The parcel exists within the named Section 36 plot of land, which the department received at statehood to generate revenue for Montana’s public schools.  

“And so, the city of Kalispell has really just grown around it,” said Kari Nielsen, a land use planner for the state agency.  

Since 2005, the department has been leasing off sections of the property, which became the Spring Prairie Planned Unit Development. The Spring Prairie shopping center, Glacier High School and the Kidsport Complex all sit on the land easement. 

When the property was once designated for agricultural uses, it only generated around $5,000 a year for public schools, according to Nielsen. But since the land began being leased off for commercial use, the property generates close to $1 million annually.  

Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office announced last year that State Trust Land revenue generated $92 million for public schools in 2024.   

The newest parcel up for grabs and one of the last still vacant on the Spring Prairie development is zoned R-4, residential, which allows for single-family housing, duplexes and townhouses.  Nielsen says that the planned unit development on the property should provide some flexibility on what can be developed.  

“The property is located in an area experiencing a high level of growth with multiple parcels transitioning from large agriculture and low-density residential parcels to higher density and mixed-use developments,” read the request for proposal.  

The recently built Stillwater Apartments sit across the street from the property, with the Bloomstone subdivision and Starling Community development also nearby.   

Any subdivision proposal for the property must still go before Kalispell City Council for review.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and junderhill@dailyinterlake.com.