Design

Opportunity Bank of Montana announces a $100,000 pledge to the Montana Historical Society for the state’s new Montana Heritage Center.
It is one of the largest donations since construction began on the Heritage Center this fall, and Director Molly Kruckenberg said it is a gift for all Montanans.
“Opportunity Bank has supported the Montana Heritage Center since the idea originated more than a decade ago,” Kruckenberg said. “We are honored to receive their donation.”
Opportunity Bank President Pete Johnson said that with 22 branches across the Treasure State, the donation by Opportunity Bank represents the wide range of people and communities in Montana. He hopes the bank’s contribution inspires other businesses and individuals to donate.
“Preserving Montana’s history is extremely important,” Johnson said. “The Montana Heritage Center will help citizens understand and appreciate our history. It will be a wonderful asset for our state.”
Opportunity Bank is a $1.2 billion community bank, the fourth largest bank headquartered in Montana. Its doors fi rst opened in 1922 as American Building and Loan, becoming Opportunity Bank in 2014.
“As the Bank approaches our 100-year anniversary, we have distinct appreciation for stories about how we became who we are,” Johnson said. “At our heart, we are a Montana community bank and strive to make our communities stronger.”
Construction of the $53 million Montana Heritage Center was approved by the Montana State Legislature in 2019. While the bulk of the funding will come from tourism dollars through the Lodging Facility Use Tax – also known as the bed tax – the Montana Historical Society was tasked with raising $10 million for the project. Thus far, MHS has raised close to $5.6 million, including the Opportunity Bank donation.
The donation will be used to help fund work on the new 66,000-square-foot Heritage Center affixed to the north side of the current Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building on the Capitol Campus. The Memorial Building, which was built in the 1950s and currently houses MHS, will be upgraded. The facilities will expand exhibit and educational spaces and provide a better storage environment for priceless artifacts, paintings and other items held at the Montana Historical Society for the benefi t of all Montanans.
For more information or to donate to the project, go online to MontanasMuseum.org.
Questions can be directed to Eve Byron, MHS Public Information Officer, at eve.byron@mt.gov or 406/444-6843 or Katie Walsh, Opportunity Bank Marketing Director, at KatieWalsh@oppbank.com or 406/457-4056.

After the Legislature voted to approve the Montana Museums Act in 2019, the MHC Building Committee reconvened more than a decade after the project was first conceptualized. The site selection process (visit https://montanamuseum.org/select to learn more) determined that the best location - for a variety of reasons - remained the site at 6th Avenue & Roberts St.

In the course of reviewing plans from 2009, however, there was further discussion of the logistical and construction costs of maintaining two separate buildings across 6th Avenue, as originally envisioned. It was determined that connecting the new expansion to the existing Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building would save money, increase parking, and create a better experience for visitors.

The new building expansion will connect to the existing home of the Montana Historical Society across 6th Avenue. A new entrance and café plaza will connect the two buildings. The interior spaces of the Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building will be renovated. The building itself, however, is on the National Register of Historic Places and the exterior of the building will not be altered.

The building addition will both honor and complement this historic building. Learn more about the design inspiration and plans here.

During this discussion, many community members understandably expressed concern about the impact this closure would have on the Capitol campus and the surrounding neighborhood. We intentionally created opportunities for the community members to share their perspectives on this change.

Learn more about the decision-making process:

March 24, 2020 - Completed Traffic Study

Prior to seeking the approval of the City of Helena for the permanent closure, we engaged a consultant to complete a traffic study of the potential impact.

https://montanamuseum.org/5720/widgets/17689/documents/11529

April 21, 2020 - Community Open House

The MHC project team held a community open house (virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions) to present the design concept. In order to get the word out, we canvassed the surrounding neighborhood to invite neighbors, contacted the Helena Citizens Council, and shared the meeting on social media channels and in the press.

https://montanamuseum.org/design/widgets/17747/videos/1571

May 13, 2020 - Helena City Commission Administrative Meeting

Agenda: https://helena.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=312&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda

Meeting Item: https://helena.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=4662&MeetingID=312

May 15, 2020 - Updated Traffic Study

In response to comments we received during the public outreach, we completed an updated traffic study.

https://montanamuseum.org/5720/widgets/17689/documents/11633

May 18, 2020 - Helena City Commission Meeting

The Helena City Commission considered a resolution of intention to vacate 6th Avenue R/W between N. Roberts Street and Sanders Street.

Agenda: https://helena.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=302&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda

Meeting Item: https://helena.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=4672&MeetingID=302

Recording: https://www.helenacivictv.org/on-demand/692

June 4, 2020 – Neighborhood Meeting

The design team held an online discussion with neighbors of the Montana Heritage Center to discuss traffic impacts and potential traffic calming measures.

Recording: https://montanamuseum.org/design/widgets/17747/videos/1717

June 8, 2020 - Helena City Commission Public Hearing

The Helena City Commission considered the resolution of intention to vacate 6th Avenue R/W between N. Roberts Street and Sanders Street and voted to approve the resolution.

Agenda: https://helena.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/MeetingView.aspx?MeetingID=304&MinutesMeetingID=-1&doctype=Agenda

Meeting Item: https://helena.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=4691&MeetingID=304

Recording: https://www.helenacivictv.org/on-demand/845

During the site selection process one of the most prominent concerns we heard from the community was about parking on the Capitol campus. Selecting the location at 6th & Roberts and connecting the new building to the existing MHS building created an increased in parking not only for the museum and heritage center, but for the campus as a whole.

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Proposals for construction were received in May and Sletten Construction of Great Falls was successfully awarded the construction contract.

Six Montana contractors submitted proposals based on criteria developed by the selection committee and participated in interviews. All six submittals demonstrated the quality of these firms and their capabilities to construct the project. Based upon the scoring criteria in the Request for Proposals, Sletten received the highest score among the competitors.

Presentation of opportunities for involvement of tribal communities in Montana in the architectural design process of the new Montana Heritage Center.

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HELENA – The new Heritage Center is now in the design phase and on Wednesday the building committee held their first meeting.