BOZEMAN — By now, many in Bozeman have heard about the city’s big plans for development — roughly 3,000 acres. The future growth is slated for Northwest Bozeman, and opinions on the project vary among local residents.
“We’re definitely growing a lot in just the last 15 years,” one resident said.
WATCH: Bozeman has big plans — more than 3,000 acres of development in the northwest part of the city
“Just in the six years living here, Bozeman has changed quite a bit,” said Alex, a Montana native.
Bozeman’s rapid growth is no secret. So when residents learned the city is planning to develop more than 3,000 acres of land, reactions ranged.
“I mean, if they’ve got a plan and they make it look nice, I don’t think it’s a bad idea,” another resident commented.
“I guess it doesn’t really surprise me at this point,” Alex said.
When shown where the development is planned — north of Durston Road and west of Harper Puckett Road — Alex reflected on how the future might reshape the area.
“It’s always been talked about, like ‘it’s only a matter of time before Bozeman and Belgrade are basically connected and it’s truly like a suburb,’” Alex said.
To learn more about these plans, I turned to Chris Naumann, principal at Sanbell, a community design firm selected by the city to assist with the Northwest Bozeman project.
“Over my career, I’ve done the downtown master plan. I’ve done master planning for Bozeman Health and other large clients throughout the Gallatin Valley,” Naumann said.
Naumann emphasized that this is still a planning project.
“It’s just to look at what growth might look like when and if it happens,” he said.
The timing, Naumann explained, is partly tied to infrastructure needs.
“It’s being stipulated by the city’s plans to put in a sanitary sewer lift station near the intersection of Harper Puckett and East Valley Center Road,” Naumann said.
The sewer lift station is in the design phase and could be constructed in 2027. It would serve the 3,000-acre development, which is currently envisioned as primarily residential with some mixed-use areas.
Any official development could still be years away.
“Most of the property is not annexed into the city yet,” Naumann said. “Ultimately, it’s the private property owners’ decision to request annexation if they want city services and are planning to pursue development.”
Preserving open land is also a priority for some community members.
“I hope a lot of it remains preserved because that is a lot of Bozeman’s charm,” Alex said. “You can drive through these cookie-cutter subdivisions and still run through some fields and get unobstructed views of the mountains.”
The city will host multiple community events for Northwest Bozeman Area Plan Project. Dates and times are listed below.
Open House #1
June 30, 2026 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Gallatin High School
4455 Annie St, Bozeman, MT 59718
Open House #2
July 8, 2026 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Gallatin High School
4455 Annie St, Bozeman, MT 59718
Pop-Up Event #1:
July 14, 2026 | 5:00pm – 8:00pm
Bozeman Farmers Market
Lindley Park, 900 East Main Street, Bozeman, MT
