BILLINGS — On Wednesday, McCall Homes broke ground on what they call The Market.
The Market will be built at the Annafeld housing subdivision near Elysian Road, near the Yellowstone River in the southwest part of town. The Market will consist of shops, and differing styles of homes including single-family homes, townhomes, and apartment rentals that look like stately mansions. Annafeld will hold over 1,000 homes.
The hope is for all residents along the river corridor to have walkable and bikeable access to shops, the developers said.
“It’s about the people who live there and creating a great place for families to grow together,” says Brad McCall, co-owner of McCall Homes.
The corner shop for The Market has already been decided.
“I love coffee, but my husband loves soda, so we decided it would be really cool if we did an espresso bar and a soda fountain,” says Carla Brownson, the owner of Maple Moose coffee and pop.
McCall wants to keep all the shops local and is in talks with several vendors, but the people already living in the community have their own hopes.
One couple who live near the subdivision, the Dohertys, had several ideas.
“A brewery, 100%," the husband said.
"Coffee shops, bakeries, little stores, gift shops," his wife added, and he agreed.
"Over here, we don’t have anything so that’s going to be a must,” she concluded.
McCall hopes that construction on the first phase of The Market will be done by spring of 2022.