BILLINGS — A group of officials and business leaders hit the road Thursday morning to get a first-hand look at the more than $1.5 billion in construction projects taking shape in Yellowstone County’s vast economic landscape.
Watch the new College of Veterinary Medicine take shape:
The Big Sky Economic Development annual Impact Bus Tour gave more than 40 board members, investors, elected officials, and developers a behind-the-scenes view of several projects expected to boost job growth, tourism, and industry in the county.
“Every fall, we do a bus tour. These are projects that we've been involved with in some way, shape, or form,” said Nick Pancheau, chair of the Big Sky Economic Development Corporation (EDC) board.
Among the stops on the tour was the new proposed College of Veterinary Medicine at Rocky Vista University, a $37 million facility slated to be the first of its kind in a five-state region. Once completed, it’s expected to bring 120 students per class and contribute an estimated $60 million annually to the local economy.
“It's an incredible asset for Billings,” said Dusty Eaton, the project's lead architect with A&E Design. "If you think about the impact on Montana, particularly a state that has more animals than people, we have a big need.”
Other key stops included the under-construction Signal Peak Ice Arena, the new Amazon Fulfillment Center that became fully operational in March, the Army National Guard’s limited aviation facility, and the Coca-Cola bottling plant.
“Billings really is the economic center for our state,” said Pancheau. "It's fun to watch a project go from the early phases where our board is involved and we commit to help fund a project, and then to see it all the way through construction when it comes back and it's completed."
According to Big Sky Economic Development Director Paul Green, the organization is actively involved in $1.5 billion worth of construction projects that are currently underway, despite national economic pressures such as inflation and high material costs.
"We're being more of a proactive partner as far as the developer with the private sector so that we can help with the infrastructure where we can do things like coordinate supply chain solutions because we are the manufacturing center for the state," said Green.
Billings already produces $11 billion in GDP annually, with Yellowstone County contributing another $10 billion, making the region responsible for more than a third of Montana’s entire $57 billion economic output, Green added.
"While we have a tendency to be a lot more quiet about that development, we actually are the economic engine for the state," said Green. "It's important that we bring together those decision makers, those people that are influencers, so they understand what's happening throughout, whether it's the National Guard project, the bypass, or Rocky Mountain Vista veterinary schools.”
As growth continues, Green said the challenge lies in staggering projects to avoid economic whiplash. With unemployment at just 2.4%, Green aims to focus not only on creating more jobs but on securing better ones, too.
"We've been an economy that's grown at 4 percent traditionally for decades. We recognize that this $1.5 billion is going to spike us at about 12 percent. That 12 percent, we want to be able to stagger it as we bring more construction projects in," said Green. "As they're starting to drop off, we're bringing these others in so that we can control that, and we just continue to grow at that level. “
As the bottom line is appearing positive for the largest economy in the state, people like Eaton are glad to see more change coming forward.
“Billings has been this amazing place for growth, and it's a great steady growth," said Eaton. “These are projects that are extremely impactful to our growth as a community. They are an investment in both physical infrastructure, but long-term infrastructure in terms of people and bringing people to this community.”
