BILLINGS — The Big Sky Economic Development is estimating that more than $1.5 billion worth of construction projects is underway or coming to Billings.
Among those projects is the $37 million College of Veterinary Medicine at Rocky Vista University, which broke ground last week. That project is being built by Langlas and Associates, Inc.
Watch some of the construction work in Billings below:
Other high-scale projects either under construction or starting soon include the $11 million nursing education building for Montana State University Billings, a $52 million investment in an Army National Guard Training Facility, a $41 million seven-story Mariott hotel coming to downtown, the $1 billion 14-story regional medical center for Intermountain Health, the $16 million Signal Peak Energy Ice Arena and the $21 million multi-sport recreation complex at Amend Park.
The veterinary medicine building is "progressing along nicely," said Langlas Eastern District Vice President Joe Clark on Monday. "We're coming in the spring here with a lot of rain, which is fighting our site work, but we've been able to manufacture our walls and set those through the weather. These guys are going to fight through the rain and snow."
Clark said there's been some typical Montana weather this spring, but his crews are holding steady and on schedule. Construction is expected to be completed by spring of 2026 so that the accreditation process of the college can begin.
The project is expansive and requires lots of manpower. Clark estimates that there are 40 contractors and subcontractors on the project, and the majority are based locally.
"At any given time, you could have probably close to 200 employees throughout the course of this construction project," Clark said. "Most come from right here in Billings, but some are from around the state. It provides a lot of opportunities for guys here locally, with a bigger project."
Big Sky Economic Development Director Paul Green said the amount of investments is exciting.
"Total projects, we're looking at pretty close to a billion and a half," Green said. "That's a significant investment."
Green said that these projects will take a few years to complete, bringing a spike in the local economy.
"These projects, we're looking at to take anywhere from three to four years," Green said. "That's a fairly significant impact to the community in terms of restaurants and other businesses."
And Green said that the financial impacts will continue after the projects are complete. The Big Sky Economic Development estimates that the College of Veterinary Medicine will make a $60 million economic impact annually once it's finished.
Green said the hope is that the boost from construction will lead to more consistent economic growth.
"We're actually trying to take out the spike and hope to use some of these temporary construction jobs and find ways to benefit from them long term," Green said.
Clark said that's why it's important for these projects to be contracted locally.
"It's a benefit for Rocky Vista having us be local, even for years after the project," Clark said.
