Joshua Tree — 1316 Bozeman

The board

Every work item, with its status and its owner

SEP 8Overhead-door deposit — $11,532 (approved estimate #710; private side)Stephen

AUG 27 · SEP 5Window quotes expire — refresh before filing; pay nothing matchable before City approvalStephen

WAITINGADA ramp — bid still out (TBD)Stephen · Diane

WAITINGMan doors (2) — no bid yetStephen · Diane

WAITINGGutters, whole building — no bid yetStephen · Diane

WAITINGDisposal of removed materials — no bid yetStephen · Diane

WAITINGGraffiti removal (2 instances) — named in her narrative, unpricedStephen · Diane

WAITINGJohn Horne — signed permission letter (written, waiting) + phone and emailDiane

WAITINGThe lease — term, parties, permission to alter the exteriorDiane

WAITINGHeadcount — now, and planned at BozemanStephen

WAITINGBasement — storage or working shop (drives egress)Stephen

WAITINGConfirm the City eligibility call + current HURTIF deadline (board meets 2nd Tuesday, 1:30 pm)Diane · Us

IN REVIEWSection 2.k — drafted on the application from her statute, awaiting Diane's eyeUs

DONEThe application — the City's own form, filled section by sectionUs

DONECost worksheet — 17 of 20 lines priced from her Aug 17 sheet (her filled subtotal column adds to $63,326; every priced line adds to $68,631 — she wrote no grand total)Diane

DONEPrivate financing answered — up to $250,000 home-equity lineDiane's narrative

DONECompletion date — end of 2027Diane's narrative

DONEProperty record verified — 2025 taxes $12,716.16 paid, in-districtUs

DONEOwner permission letter written — awaiting signatureUs

DONEStatute map — every repair line matched to the law (feeds 2.k)Us

Here's the money

Three places the dollars can come from

1. The City match

The main one. Railroad District TIF — up to half the outside work. The City is already in it with Stephen.

2. A façade grant

Helena already runs a second façade program through its downtown business district. Separate from the TIF.

3. A jobs fund

The state pays up to $5,000 per new job. That's for the shop expansion, not the stone.

+ Stephen's own commitment

Up to $250,000 in committed private credit, plus his own funds and labor already in the building. The match is real.

New on Aug 17: Diane's bid sheet landed — 17 of 20 cost lines are now priced — her filled subtotals add to $63,326, every priced line to $68,631 (her sheet carries no grand total), the overhead doors already approved. The application went from mostly blank to nearly whole.

Open the full money map →

Every line of the budget

The lanes, and the cost board — Diane's sheet, line by line

Source	What it funds	Status
Stephen's private commitment	The match backbone — up to $250,000 home-equity line of credit, plus his own funds and labor already in	Committed — Diane's narrative, Aug 17
City Railroad URD TIF	Up to half the exterior restoration	Primary · live · City already engaged
Helena BID façade program	Second façade source (Montana Main Street)	~Mid-November cycle
Big Sky Trust Fund	Up to $5,000 per net new job	Via Big Sky EDA
MT Historic Preservation Grant	Up to $350k historic rehab, 1:1 match	Next cycle March 2028
Historic tax credits	~20% federal + MT 25% of federal	Owner (John Horne) side

The cost board — Diane's sheet, line by line

Item	Vendor	#	Quote	Where	Bid total
Single-hung windows — Milgard 44″×61″	Custom Glass & Windows	6	$4,938	Office
Single-hung window — Milgard 26″×45¼″	Custom Glass & Windows	1	$622	Office	$5,560
Labor and materials	JTC	7	$1,400	Office
Casement windows 31½″×48″ (left)	Custom Glass & Windows	3	—	Front shipping windows
Casement windows 31½″×48″ (right)	Custom Glass & Windows	3	$4,746	Front shipping windows	$4,746
Labor and materials	Custom Glass & Windows	3	$1,200	Front shipping windows
Casement craftsman windows 24″×30″	Every Window	3	$2,704.59	Basement, front
Masonry — repointing front and back	Karson Klass		$6,300	Front and back	$6,300
Overhead doors Approved — deposit $11,532 due Sept 8	Overhead Door Co. of Helena	5	$19,220	Front of building	$19,220
Bifold barn / double-hinged doors	JTC	3	$5,400	Back of building	$5,400
Remove concrete from doors, restore doors	JTC	2	$6,000	Back of building	$6,000
Window wells	JTC	2	$1,000	Front of building	$1,000
Remove concrete from covered windows	JTC	8	$1,600	Front (3) and back (5)	$1,600
Restore window encasements — frame and glass	JTC	8	$6,000	Front (3) and back (5)	$6,000
Handicapped entrance, panic bar		1	$5,000	Office entrance	$5,000
ADA extended ramp, landing zone		1	TBD	Office entrance
Man doors		2	No bid yet	Office and loading dock
Gutters, aluminum		Entire building	No bid yet	Front and back
Mural restoration — with John Horne's blessing	JTC	1	$2,500	Front building	$2,500
Disposal of materials removed			No bid yet

Kept exactly as Diane grouped it — the bid-total column is her own roll-up. New in her narrative and not yet priced: removing two instances of graffiti. Also hers: the sidewalk water spigot and air for cyclists' tires — two public gifts for the district — and a historical display inside, “for anyone to enjoy.”

Here's the program

What we're asking the City for

Helena has a Railroad District fund. If a project restores a historic building, the City can match up to half the cost of the outside work — the windows, the wells, the doors, the stone, the gutters, the ramp. Stephen puts private money into the shop inside. The City match is for the face the district sees.

Windows

Restore the glass. Reopen the eight openings that were poured shut with concrete.

Wells & doors

Fix the rusted window wells. Restore the man doors and the rear barn doors.

Stone & gutters

Repoint the masonry. Rebuild the gutters so the walls stop taking water.

ADA ramp

Rebuild the ramp so the office entrance is actually usable.

The story, in order

How this building got here

1880s

Railroad Helena.

The Northern Pacific comes through. Warehouses press to the tracks — freight, storage, the working capital of a capital city.

1935

The earthquake.

October 1935. The State Liquor Warehouse next door shatters. This stone warehouse — then the Nash-Finch food distributor — keeps standing.

1949

Capital Transfer & Storage.

Three generations of the Horne family. Moving, warehousing, storage. Seventy-six years.

2026

The doors close.

July 1, 2026. John Horne retires. The stone stays.

Now

Joshua Tree Cabinetry.

Stephen Banker, a Helena cabinetmaker for 30+ years — the building's new lessee and future owner — keeping craft work in the district and opening the windows back up. Work underway in 2026, finished by end of 2027.

The pictures