South Billings is getting new neighbors, with several businesses along Midland Road remodeling and expanding.
Watch the full story below:
The Signature Inn, a rebranded former Motel 6, is set to welcome guests in early November. Calmont Hospitality, the new owner of two former Motel 6 properties on Midland Road, says the goal is to give the properties a new identity and create a more welcoming experience for visitors.
The two former Motel 6 locations, including a sister property across the street, both closed in late 2025. The former Motel 6 had been the source of recurring safety complaints, including a shooting in 2022.
Rachel Dehler has owned the High Tide Casino next door for more than a decade. She has watched this stretch of Midland Road go through some tough years.
"I am so hopeful, all my fingers are crossed, that it will follow through. We've heard so many different stories, you know, since we bought this place in 2013," Dehler said.
With both Motel 6 properties under new ownership, the area has already begun to take on a new identity.
"So it was literally a rebrand without even trying," Dehler said.
But the challenges did not disappear with the Motel 6, and the surrounding area has also seen better days.
"…there's only so much you can do as a business owner when the area around you is falling apart," Dehler said.
The Signature Inn is not the only property getting a makeover. Randi Lovec has worked at the Trailhead Inn property for 18 years. The property plans to reopen as a Cambria Hotel.
"The goal is in 18 months we will reopen as a Cambria," Lovec said.
"Should bring a new clientele, new guest experience. We're excited," Lovec said.
The plans go beyond the hotel. The former Billings Convention Center property could also see new retail development.
"The property sits on 13 acres… There is a plan to develop all of that… into retail spaces," Lovec said.
For long-time business owners like Dehler, that investment is giving them something they have not always had: Optimism.
"We went through so many ups and downs here. There were literally years where we almost closed our doors, and there's just this feeling of being able to exhale a little bit," Dehler said.
