This project is a Public/Private partnership between the Community Development Department of the City of Billings and Real Estate Dynamics, Inc. The property is owned by the City, and they used Federal HOME Funds to develop the lots. 70% of the homes in the subdivision must be sold to people in the 80% median income and less. This income level qualifies buyers for various forms of cash assistance. To take advantage of this program, buyers must attend a Homebuyers Education Workshop put on by homeWORD of Billings or Beartooth RC&D of Laurel. Once you take the Workshop and qualify for the program, you can take advantage of many assistance programs available, including deducting the lot cost from the total purchase price, which in the 1st phase amounted to $26,000, and up to $20,000 of additional cash assistance.

Laughlin Construction is the builder and Diamond Realtors is the selling agent for the 1st and 2nd Phase of King’s Green Subdivision. All 10 of the homes in the 1st Phase were sold to people that qualified for different levels of assistance under this program. The 2nd Phase will begin in the Spring of 2006 and will offer the same types of programs.

In the summer of 1995 I first became involved with King’s Green Subdivision when the City of Billings issued a Request for Proposals on the approximately 14.5 acres directly south of the King’s Green Subdivision 1st Filing. In February of 1995 Yellowstone County had donated the tax-deed property to the City of Billings. The Billings City Council designated the property stay R-5000 zoning and to be used for affordable housing. I submitted a proposal, along with my then partner, Jerry Neumann, under the name of Yellowstone Construction, Ltd. Co. The Billings City Council approved our proposal at their December 18, 1995 meeting. Our proposal was to build approximately 60 houses on the property, using Federal HOME funds obtained through the City Community Development Department to subdivide and provide water, sanitary sewer, storm drainage, curb, gutter and paving for the lots.

The final plat for the 2nd Filing of King’s Green Subdivision was approved by the City Council on August 26, 1996 and had 68 lots. We then entered into a development agreement with the City to build 68 homes on the property. Our plan was to build split-entry homes, similar to the existing homes in King’s Green Subdivision, 1st Filing and similar to the homes that we were currently building in Willow Creek Subdivision in Laurel. In the spring of 1997, we started two homes on McDougal Drive where Cambridge Drive intersects. June of 1997 was the last time the Yellowstone River was at flood stage. That same June, we experienced two major storms that dumped huge amounts of water on the City of Billings. The combination of the high water level in the Yellowstone River, the storms and a high water table left no place for the storm water to go and it pooled at the intersection of Cambridge and McDougal, and backed up into the subdivision. The King’s Green storm drain system was designed to go into the City/County Drain which flows on the north and east side of the entire King’s Green Subdivision, and flows under I-90 and into the Yellowstone River. The City/County Drain collects water from a large area in the Billings West End and can become quite high during large storms. The City set up a temporary pumping station and pumped the pooled water into the City/County Drain.

The ground water rose above the tops of some of the footings that we had put in for our two houses. It became very apparent to us that we could not continue with the project as it was. We pulled our footings out of the ground and on June 20, 1997 sent a letter to the Mayor and City Council stating our continued commitment to the project, but also stating that the project was not feasible the way it was currently designed. We suggested some solutions to the storm drain problems could be addressed by redesigning a portion of the King’s Green, 2nd Filing.

In January 2000, the City of Billings Engineering Department came up with a design solution for the storm water, which consisted of a dual detention basin facility with a pumping station which would pump storm water out of the basin into the City/County Drain. The facility provides service for King’s Green 1st Filing and for the King’s Green 2nd & 3rd Filing, for both the two-year and ten-year design storms. This facility, according to the City, will also be able to accommodate approximately one-half of the 100-year design storm. The City has completed this retention facility as well as replacing the small drain crossing at McDougal and Washington Street, with a large one. This process involved many meetings with the Southwest Task Force, the neighbors, the City staff and members of the City Council. It also included revising the plat for King’s Green 2nd Filing. The new plat enlarged many of the lots, cut down the number of lots from 68 to 50, provided for a buffer zone adjacent to I-90 that will include some earth berms and the City Bike Path.

In the spring of 2004, Blake Laughlin, Tim Hudson and Chuck Platt, under the name of Real Estate Dynamics, Inc., signed a Development Agreement with the City of Billings to build the first 10 homes in Phase I of the King’s Green Subdivision, 2nd & 3rd Filing. In order to avoid future ground water problems, we have elected to eliminate footings and foundations and to use monolithic slab construction. We feel confident that the water retention basin and the pumping facility is an excellent solution for all phases of the King’s Green Subdivision storm drainage. We also feel that, even though the process took a lot longer than anyone anticipated, this is a much better project than what we started with. The process involved meetings with the neighbors, the Southwest Task Force, City Council members, City of Billings Community Development, Engineering and Public Works Departments. It is because of the combined efforts of the individuals and groups that participated in the overall process that kept this project going. It is truly a Public/Private Project. We are proud to be involved with this project and are looking forward to being able to provide affordable housing for the City of Billings and adding to the fine neighborhood at the King’s Green Subdivision.