1316 Bozeman Ave — Genesis Project Plan

Current as of Aug 23 night: Live packet numbers are on the one-page board and the filled City form. Working priced exterior $84,680.59 including handicap entrance $5,000. Downtown HURD / BID is parked — not this filing. Basement is not a use. This file is lineage; do not file from it if it disagrees with the board.

Working name: The Warehouse / Joshua Tree at the Railroad District

Property: 1316 Bozeman Avenue, Helena, MT 59601

Applicant path: Stephen Banker (Joshua Tree Cabinetry) — lessee

Helper: Diane Anders

City program: City of Helena — Railroad Urban Renewal District (RURD) Tax Increment Financing (TIF)

As of: 2026-08-11

1. What this is (one sentence)

Stephen is moving his cabinetry shop into a historic stone railroad-district warehouse and asking the City of Helena to match up to 50% of exterior restoration costs — windows, wells, doors, masonry, gutters, ADA ramp — under the Railroad District TIF program.

2. Who decides (the approval chain)

Contacts

• Community Development: (406) 447-8490 · citycommunitydevelopment@helenamt.gov · 316 N. Park Ave, Room 445
• Historic Preservation Officer may sit ex officio on the board (good early ally)

Cadence (legacy RURD language still on forms): applications by the 1st of the month → board ~3rd Thursday. Confirm current HURTIF calendar with staff on the eligibility call.

Hard money rule (printed on the form): costs to be paid with TIF cannot be incurred before funding approval. Quotes are fine. Paying Custom Glass before approval = those dollars may not get matched.

Lessee rule: if Stephen does not own the building, written owner permission + lease must be in the packet.

3. Why the City cares (score to their criteria)

Official priority that fits this project best:

#5 Historic Façade & Site Improvement Program — restore/rehabilitate historic buildings.

Also scores on:

• Increased taxable valuation / adaptive reuse of underused warehouse
• Job creation (shop + local contractors)
• Health & safety (wells, masonry, ADA)
• #6 Marketing/Branding — our story site + short film literally satisfy a named RURD priority

Precedents that prove the pot pays for windows/façade:

• Pattern House — ~$75K RURD TIF for exterior accessibility + façade
• YWCA Helena — ~$150K TIF toward replacing ~60 windows

4. The building story (working timeline — verify primary sources)

Railroad district context is the spine of the RURD plan — warehouse + tracks + food distribution = the economic story the district was created to revive.

5. What Diane already gathered (folder inventory)

~107 files on Desktop → Diane Historic Home, including:

• Draft narrative: SB Appl for Carter.docx (incomplete — blanks marked)
• Repair matrix: windows, wells, concreted openings, barn doors, ADA, masonry, gutters, overhead door, basement windows
• Custom Glass quotes (Milgard vinyl) + shop drawings — office ~$5,560 · front casements ~$4,746 (expires Aug 27 / Sep 5 2026)
• Diane field count (Aug 7 email): 3 concreted windows + wells left; 1 well between building & state bldg; 5 concreted rear windows; 1 concreted rear door + double barn doors
• History notes: Nash-Finch, Kleinschmidt, Union Mercantile, Capital Transfer, earthquake
• Dozens of site photos (stone walls, arches, concreted openings, barn doors, wells)
• Official RURD application PDF pages photographed

Application gaps still open

• Exact private $ already spent / committed
• Full cost worksheet + leverage ratio
• Cost of public services answer
• MCA 7-15-4288 eligible activities mapping
• Owner permission letter
• Job counts (permanent vs construction)
• Current property taxes / ownership structure
• Typo: “Jericho Tree” → Joshua Tree
• Window product strategy vs historic character (see §6)

6. THE WINDOW QUESTION (do not guess — decide with eyes + code)

What Stephen seems to want

• Restore exterior historic visage
• Fix glass/panes, reopen concreted openings, repair wells
• Quotes in hand for new Milgard vinyl units (office + shipping)

What historic / TIF reviewers usually want

• Repair first original wood sash where salvageable
• If replace: in-kind (wood, matching muntin pattern, true divided lite or historically appropriate SDL)
• Vinyl often weakens “Historic Preservation” scoring and can clash with Secretary of the Interior Standards if the building is treated as historic character-contributing

Basement / wells / egress

• Concreted basement openings + corroded wells = both character and life-safety
• If basement becomes occupied work space → modern egress size/operability rules may apply (City Building Division + fire)
• If storage-only → different path; still need wells drained/safe and openings treated honestly on the plans

Decision gate (before locking quotes)

1. Photo inventory of every opening (numbered elevations)
2. Call Building Division + HPO: pane-only vs full unit; concreted reopen; basement occupancy intent
3. Two-track cost: (A) historic wood repair/replace-in-kind · (B) modern vinyl — show both to City so we don’t get rejected on character
4. Only then update the TIF budget line

7. Grant / money stack (beyond the City match)

Extent the ask: TIF for exterior envelope + ADA; separate asks for shop equipment / workforce if any; never double-dip the same invoice.

8. Deliverables Genesis will build

A. Application packet (P0 — get money)

1. Completed official form + financing worksheet
2. Project narrative scored to all 10 measurable objectives
3. Owner permission + lease excerpt
4. Numbered photo elevations + repair matrix
5. Window strategy memo + alternate bids if needed
6. MCA 7-15-4288 eligibility map
7. Precedent sheet (Pattern House, YWCA)
8. Board presentation (10–12 slides / short HTML)

B. Project worksite (P0 for Stephen — private)

Private site: checklist, deadlines, who to call, permit tracker, photo log, spend-before-approval warnings.

C. Public story site (P1 — also scores Marketing priority #6)

Past → present → future of 1316 Bozeman; newspaper clips; earthquake chapter; Capital Transfer farewell; Joshua Tree arrival; donate-eyes / follow-the-restoration.

D. Short film (P1 — “shot through time”)

3–5 min: Sanborn/rail era → 1935 quake → Horne family decades → empty warehouse → craftsman’s hands restoring stone & light. Carter GO before any paid generation.

E. Soul dossier on Stephen (P1)

Family, Pennsylvania → Montana arc, craft philosophy, employees, why this building — Genesis people method (truth only, nulls beat invention).

9. Execution order (rock & roll)

10. Extra ideas (beyond what was asked)

1. Oral history with John Horne — living memory of 76 years in that building; gold for film + board emotion.
2. State building next door relationship — the well between buildings; neighbor letter of support.
3. Before/after night-and-day board — one elevation with concreted windows vs reopened light (architect or skilled illustration).
4. Craft-as-preservation argument — a cabinetmaker restoring a warehouse is the district’s economic story in one body.
5. Volunteer / apprentice days — photo ops + job-creation narrative.
6. Montana Memory / Chronicling America clip reel embedded on the story site.
7. Ribbon / open-shop day after Phase 1 windows — invite commissioners who voted yes.
8. Insurance / structural note on masonry + gutters — boards love “protect the public investment.”

11. What we need from Stephen / Diane / Carter

From Stephen (facts, not homework essays):

• Owner name + permission willingness
• Lease term
• Dollars already in / committed
• Intended basement use
• Headcount now / planned
• Preferred window path if City pushes wood

From Diane:

• Any more docs/photos coming
• Whether eligibility call already happened

From Carter:

• YES to start Wave 1–3 now
• YES/NO on public story site + film in parallel vs after application
• Brand name for the project (working: “The Warehouse” / “Light Back Into Bozeman”)

Genesis standard: research first, invent nothing, deliver finished packets — not homework for the craftsman.