BILLINGS — The City Council approved $1.4 million on Monday for an affordable apartment complex project in the Billings Heights.
The complex will be built in a field on Sioux Lane using repurposed man camp trailer units from the Bakken oil boom in North Dakota.
Watch this video to hear about the project:
It's a project that has been discussed for more than a year, but Monday's unanimous vote from the City Council for funding is making it more of a reality. Construction is scheduled to begin in May of 2026.
"It's a unique idea," said Billings City Council member Bill Kennedy on Tuesday. "It's a pretty good-sized project. It's 101 two-bedroom apartments, and so we're helping them through this for the affordable housing."
Kennedy said the decision to approve funding was a no-brainer, given the need for more housing in Billings.
"When you start getting over $1,000 or $1,200 for a monthly rent, that's a lot of money when you have two or three kids," Kennedy said. "Especially when people are working minimum wage."
The project was initially brought forward by HomeFront, formerly the Housing Authority in Billings, whose former director, Lucy Brown, purchased the land on Sioux Lane and searched for ways to provide affordable housing. The complex will be named the LB Lofts in her honor.
Since then, HomeFront has joined forces with Missoula-based Homeword, an organization that assists in projects around the state such as this one. Homeword Director Karissa Trujillo said they were excited to help HomeFront cross the finish line.
"We want these places to not only be places that the local residents can afford to rent, but also places that they can be proud to live," Trujillo said. "Homeword really believes that our communities are stronger when everyone can afford where they're going to live."
The monthly rent will be a fixed percentage of the renters' income, according to Trujillo.
Trujillo said finding affordable housing is a statewide problem.
"Across the state, we're seeing challenges for housing affordability," Trujillo said.
To limit construction costs, the project will reuse former man camp trailers to build the complex. Trujillo expects it to end up being three stories tall.
"I know it looks kind of different right now, but eventually it'll be great," Trujillo said. "We're going to take two of those and put them together in one apartment and then stack them."
Trujillo said it's similar to a project her organization helped with in Missoula, where man camp trailers were also reused.
"If there's a way for us to repurpose something for a new use, we're going to try it," Trujillo said.
Kennedy said that he and other City Council members are excited about the project and the fact that it will spread affordable options around Billings.
"You don't want to put all of your affordable housing and everybody in one area," Kennedy said. "You want to diversify your town."
