Proposed Billings development would include state's tallest building

BILLINGS — The Billings skyline could be in for a major overhaul — the addition of the state's tallest building — if a $120 million downtown development comes to fruition.

One Big Sky Center, a multiuse development being proposed for downtown Billings, would include a 70,000-square-foot conference center, a 160-room hotel, downtown residences that cater to both seniors and millennials, plus the addition of major retail and office space downtown.

Plans unveiled recently also call for a downtown walking mall flanked by two high-rise towers, one of which would be 324 feet tall, dwarfing Montana's current tallest building, the 272-foot-tall First Interstate tower. Supporters described the project, two years in the making, as a catalyst for new growth and development, and a shot in the arm for the city’s efforts to recruit conventions and conferences.

As planned, the development would include both private and public investment, with some of the money generated through the downtown tax increment funding district. At a news conference attended by more than 75 people, developers said it's too soon to estimate how much TIF money would be needed to make the development work.

Read more: http://helenair.com/business/proposed-billings-development-would-include-state-s-tallest-building/article_1679ecd5-517d-5ca5-8805-ae7b2843dea5.html