Executive Director Jacob Kuntz gives an update on the Rose Hills project and answers some of the most common questions.
We expect to finalize the remaining bond and financing processes during August, positioning us to break ground on the water and wastewater infrastructure in September. Before we reach that milestone, I want to bring you up to date on where the project stands and address some of the questions we continue to hear about Rose Hills.
Financing the Infrastructure
The proposed municipal bond is made possible by House Bill 505, passed by the 2025 Montana Legislature. The legislation created a new program allowing the Montana Board of Investments to guarantee municipal bonds that support housing developments incorporating a meaningful percentage of homes affordable to working families.
To qualify, at least 30% of the homes in Rose Hills must meet the program’s affordability requirements. Our plans meet that standard.
Because this is the first project to work through the new program, we have encountered the challenges that come with doing something that has not been done before. We are fortunate to have extraordinary partners at the City of East Helena and the Montana Board of Investments who remain curious, engaged and willing to work through the complexities of balancing the community’s needs with the realities of land development.
The proposed bond (currently expected to be approximately $17.5 million) would finance major infrastructure serving Rose Hills, including:
- Road improvements leading to the neighborhood
- A water tank sized to serve Rose Hills
- Sewer-system improvements, including a lift station that will also benefit surrounding properties
These are major, long-term improvements designed for the full buildout of Rose Hills.
The bond would finance infrastructure outside the individual phases of the development. Infrastructure within each phase, including local streets and the water and sewer lines serving individual lots, will be financed separately. We estimate that the on-site infrastructure for Phase One, which will create approximately 100 building lots, will cost about $5 million. We are currently working with Habitat Capital, a community development financial institution, to secure that financing.
Rose Hills is expected to take approximately 15 phases to complete. This will be a long-term development, but we believe we are close to completing the financing needed to begin. Our current schedule remains:
- September 2026: Begin major water and wastewater infrastructure
- Spring 2027: Begin constructing the streets and utilities within Phase One of Rose Hill (for 100 homes)
- Fall 2027: Begin construction of the first homes
Those milestones remain within sight.
Common Questions About Rose Hills
As the project has moved forward, we have also heard several recurring questions and, in some cases, misunderstandings about how Rose Hills will affect East Helena and future Rose Hills residents. I want to address four of them directly.
Will current East Helena residents have to repay the Rose Hills bond?
No. The bond will be repaid through assessments placed only on the approximately 250 acres within Rose Hills. No existing East Helena home or property will be assessed to repay the bond.
Future Rose Hills property owners will pay an assessment through their property taxes for the infrastructure serving the development. Current East Helena residents will not.
The Montana Board of Investments guarantee provides an additional and important safeguard. Municipal bonds typically require a city to pledge its general fund if assessments do not produce enough revenue to repay the debt. The state guarantee is designed to protect East Helena and its general fund if Rose Hills encounters an economic downturn or does not develop as anticipated.
That protection was essential to us. We want Rose Hills to contribute to East Helena’s future without transferring its financial risk to the existing community. If successful, this structure could provide a model for other Montana communities trying to build more housing.
Does East Helena have enough water for Rose Hills?
Yes. The City of East Helena has provided documentation showing that it currently holds approximately 3,500 acre-feet of water rights.
Using the conservative planning assumption of one acre-foot per equivalent dwelling unit, those rights represent enough water for approximately 3,500 homes. We have been assured that Rose Hills can be served by the city’s existing water rights.
The city is also looking well into the future. You may have heard about its discussions with the state regarding water rights formerly held by the American Smelting and Refining Company. Those are valuable senior water rights dating back to the 1800s. East Helena is seeking to secure as much of that water as possible for the community’s future growth, much as the City of Helena maintains water rights for long-term municipal use.
That forward-looking work should not be confused with Rose Hills lacking water. The city’s effort to acquire additional water rights is about protecting East Helena’s future—not a sign that water is unavailable for Rose Hills.
Will every home in Rose Hills be affordable housing?
No. Rose Hills is being designed as a mixed-income neighborhood serving people of different ages, household sizes and incomes.
We currently expect approximately one-third of its homes to be priced for households earning 100% or less of the area median income. The remaining homes will be constructed and sold by private builders at market-supported prices.
That means Rose Hills could include everything from permanently affordable land-trust homes built by Habitat to larger market-rate homes valued at $750,000 or more—all within the same neighborhood.
Because Rose Hills is master-planned, the affordable and market-rate homes will share the same neighborhood character. It should not be apparent which family purchased through Habitat and which purchased from a market-rate builder. That integration is intentional.
The market-rate portions of Rose Hills are also part of what makes the affordable homes possible. Revenue from selling lots to private builders will help offset development costs and allow us to create more affordable opportunities.
Is the former smelter land safe for homes?
Rose Hills is located on land formerly owned by the American Smelting and Refining Company, as were approximately 2,000 acres in and around East Helena. Much of that land has already been successfully redeveloped. East Helena High School, Prickly Pear Elementary School, the Highland Meadows neighborhood and the new Town Pump are all located on former smelter property.
As a condition of acquiring Rose Hills, we agreed to complete the soil mitigation necessary to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for residential use. The current residential standard is no more than 400 parts per million of lead in the soil.
Working with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, we have secured grant funding to go beyond that requirement. Our target is to bring soil levels below 200 parts per million wherever possible.
Individual homesites will be tested, and future purchasers will receive documentation describing the testing and mitigation completed on their property.
Habitat’s mission is to build safe, decent and affordable homes. We would never build on land we did not believe was safe for families. Meeting and, where possible, exceeding the applicable environmental standards is fundamental to this work.