A newly announced preservation bid for the historic Colonial Apartments may be dead on arrival after RiverStone Health reaffirmed its purchase plans.
Apex Property Management has submitted a bid of $555,000 for the Colonial Apartments — outbidding RiverStone Health — and is calling the building a piece of Billings history.
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The company's proposal would remodel the apartments and keep them as housing rather than tearing them down for RiverStone's project.
In a joint statement released Friday afternoon, the attorney for the estate of late owner John Skauge and RiverStone Health effectively shut the door on any alternative plans.
"The current owners of the property are unwilling and unable to accept any additional offers or alternative plans for the property. RiverStone Health is committed to seeing this project through completion," the statement said.
The statement also noted that neighbors support RiverStone's project.
Apex declined MTN requests for an interview but sent a written statement: "This doesn't change our position or our offer. The Colonial represents a rare opportunity to restore 20-30 units of affordable housing for a fraction of the cost of new construction."
The Colonial Apartments have sat empty since early February, when the building's remaining residents were evicted to make way for Riverstone Health's planned community resource facility.
The building had been home to low-income residents for 107 years.
For tenants like Dina Pearson, the $400-a-month rent was the only option available.
"We're both disabled, and it's the only thing we could afford. And then when you get in here, you kind of get stuck," Pearson said.
Pearson also described feeling unsafe inside the building.
"Always. Always. I didn't go out after dark out of my room. We stayed in it and could hear it all," Pearson said.
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The Colonial Apartments have long had a troubled reputation in Billings. Billings police responded to the property more than 2,000 times over the last decade.
"So, there's a lot of violent crime that occurred here. The number of homicides that occurred right where we're standing here right now," Undersheriff Robert Lester said.
In an email to the Billings City Council, Apex said it had spoken with the Skauge estate's attorney and identified the active litigation by the city against the estate for code enforcement violations as the main obstacle to any deal.
Lauren Hunley, a community historian with the Western Heritage Center, said she has not been able to verify the various historical stories she has heard about the Colonial Apartments.
"Well, there may be truth in any one of those pieces, but the information is not substantiated by the evidence in the historical record," Hunley said.
Related: Colonial Apartments face closure and new vision from RiverStone Health
Related: Troubled Colonial Apartments to be demolished, replaced with health services
While Hunley said she values preservation, she acknowledged that difficult choices sometimes have to be made.
"There is a balance that you have to find — what resources are available, what structures take priority. You know, when we're looking at the plethora of historic structures that need work across the community, sometimes we have to make hard choices," Hunley said.
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