Photo: Bearpaw Development Corporation staff in Havre. Left to right: Joe LaPlante, director of the regional Small Business Development Center; Trish Cichosz, director of loan services; Stephanie Larson, community development specialist; Stefnie Redding, deputy director/finance officer; Paul Tuss, executive director; Sara Strissel, director of community planning and brownfields; Julea Robbins, director of community development; Amy Revious, food and agriculture development center director; and Mia Valdez, loan specialist. Photo courtesy of Bear Paw Development Corporation.

Commerce Partnerships Help Prepare Communities for Future Business Investment

By Bearpaw Development Executive Director Paul Tuss

Havre is currently experiencing a downtown renaissance, fueled in part by strategic investments made possible through programs administered by Commerce. These efforts stemmed from the development of a well-timed downtown master plan adopted by the Havre City Council that included components designed to make its downtown business district a more inviting place to live, visit, build a business and invest.

Components of this revitalization effort include:

• Development and adoption of the Havre Downtown Master Plan
• Successful application to the Montana Pilot Community Tourism Grant Program
• Havre’s first tax increment finance district, focused on the downtown area
• A public art plan for downtown Havre to include murals, sculptures, an emphasis on indigenous populations and a partnership with the Hi-Line Arts Council to focus on the community’s Art Alley
• A feasibility study for a downtown business focused on rehabilitating second-floor space for housing, funded through a Commerce Montana Main Street Grant
• A pedestrian safety and walkability plan that included a safety audit to identify obstacles to handicap accessibility, bicycle traffic and pedestrian walkability
• A wayfinding plan to identify attractions and sign locations to positively influence the visitor experience and increase visibility and visitation for key tourist locations in the community, with wayfinding in place by the 2027 visitor season
• A new brand for Havre, “Stay for the Story,” which will be the cornerstone of Havre’s wayfinding plan, future promotions and image
• A downtown stormwater mitigation preliminary engineering report, using Community Development Block Grant funds from Commerce and Renewable Resource Grant funds from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
• A new Business Revitalization Loan Fund Program with $350,000 focused on downtown business facade and exterior building improvements — $15,000 loans to businesses at 0% interest with a required 1-to-1 match

The decades-long partnership between Commerce and Bear Paw Development Corporation has resulted in significant benefits for the communities of Bear Paw’s five-county Certified Regional Development Corporation area, including the city of Havre.