A sidewalk water spigot
for anyone passing through the district
Helena · Railroad Urban Renewal District · Tax Increment Financing
Bring the light back
into 1316 Bozeman
Exterior restoration and adaptive reuse — Joshua Tree Cabinetry in a historic stone warehouse.
Applicant: Stephen Banker, new lessee and future owner · Owner of record: John Horne · Tax ID 2852
This is a real project, already moving
The numbers are in — this application is nearly whole
$84,680.59
Working priced total — handicap entrance $5,000 in; graffiti wash still open
up to $250,000
Private line of credit available
$19,220
Overhead doors — approved, deposit scheduled
2027
Completion — work already begun in 2026
Not a concept seeking money — a funded craftsman restoring a building the district just watched go dark, asking the City to match the exterior only.
The ask
Match up to half the cost of restoring the outside
- Windows, wells, and eight concreted openings reopened — encasements restored
- Barn doors restored (one filled with concrete), masonry where stone has deteriorated, gutters over the stonework only (not aluminum)
- ADA / handicap entrance stays on at $5,000 · man doors, panic bar, and handicapped door are off this ask
- The mural restored, with the owner's blessing · graffiti removed
- Private dollars for the shop inside; public dollars only for the face the district sees
Why this building
A railroad-district warehouse with a living past
~1879
Kleinschmidt and Brothers (about 1879–1896) — groceries and hardware, Theodore H. Kleinschmidt; warehouse as storage and distribution. Then Helena's grocery holding warehouse / Union Mercantile. Nash-Finch is a short later chapter.
OCTOBER 1935
The earthquakes shattered the State Liquor Warehouse next door. This building kept standing.
1949 — JULY 1, 2026
Capital Transfer & Storage — three generations of the Horne family, seventy-six years (Horne full-time 1971; eight people at close), until it closed this summer.
2026 — 2027
Joshua Tree Cabinetry — a Helena craftsman since 1992 — reopens the sealed openings and puts the building back to work.
The condition, honestly
What the district sees today
Concreted openings, deteriorated pointing, corroded wells — every one of them priced in the application, every one of them reversible.
Proven on the tax card
Already inside the Railroad TIF
- Levy district: TIF Rlrd URP
- 2025 market value: $716,000
- 2025 taxes: $12,716.16 — paid, current
- Owner of record: John Horne
Scores the adopted plan
Historic façade · adaptive reuse · jobs
- Priority #5 — Historic Façade & Site Improvement, straight down the middle
- The same tool this board has used before: Pattern House (~$75K, accessibility + façade) and the YWCA windows (~$150K) — this request is that same proven pair
- A working craft business brings daily workers, suppliers, and customers back to Bozeman Avenue
- Textbook adaptive reuse: a just-vacated warehouse returned to productive commercial use, not left to blight
Beyond the wall — offered, not asked
Gifts to the district
Air for cyclists' tires
the district's riders, served at the curb
the district's riders, served at the curb
The mural, restored
with John Horne's blessing
with John Horne's blessing
A historical display inside
the building's whole story — "for anyone to enjoy"
the building's whole story — "for anyone to enjoy"
Discipline
How we'll protect the public dollar
- No TIF-matched spend before approval — the approved door order waits on the private side
- Repair-first window path; City historic guidance before locking products
- ≤50% match — and the private leverage is now documented: a home-equity line of up to $250,000 available, plus the applicant's own funds and labor already in the building
- Owner permission · permits · development agreement · line-by-line eligibility walk with Community Development
Request
Recommend funding for exterior restoration at 1316 Bozeman
$84,680.59 working priced exterior as of August 23 — handicap entrance $5,000 in. Graffiti wash still open. The building is inside the district, the taxes are current, the craftsman is in place, and the work is already underway.
Stephen Banker · Joshua Tree Cabinetry · Helena, Montana