Deconstruction is underway at Missoula’s Sleepy Inn, but as the property is prepared for redevelopment, some residents say the deal is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

"Million to buy and thousands to demolish,” Mary Worden wrote on our Facebook page. “This is our hard earned tax money and they spend it without blinking an eye.”

Many others shared similar sentiments.

The city purchased the hotel for $1.1 million in 2020 and used it as a shelter for people sick with COVID-19.

Operational costs totaled $1,899,329.52, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursed those costs.

The city paid $24,787.38 in other operational costs but also earned another $718,046 in rent from the units.

Now the city is listing the property for $890,000.

The potential profit once the property sells could be $483,258.62.

"I don't think it was a waste of money at all. I think we are able to run an important community service, we are able to provide a piece of property that can be redeveloped in a much more appropriate way that complies with that plans that we have adopted for that area and for the downtown. It will, in all likelihood, provide new housing opportunities, which is a dire need in this community," Ellen Buchanan, director of the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, said.

Ongoing deconstruction and remediation will cost the city $293,000, but Buchanan says that’s covered by tax increment funding and an EPA grant and won't cut into the city's general budget.

Buchanan says once a new development goes in, property taxes will go up, potentially three to four times the previous $13,011.63 paid by the Sleepy Inn.

After the sale of the property, the city will gather public feedback on potential future uses.

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