Increase ECONOMIC HEALTH of Livingston downtown-its buildings and businesses - offsetting MDOT’s creation of three exits of I-90 that put them two miles from downtown Livingston

Originally Livingston’s downtown structure consisted of 20 hotels built cooperatively with the hotels in Yellowstone. The Murray, the 2 Park Hotels---most of Livingston’s downtown--- the Livingston Depot Center were built the same year as Old Faithful Inn and it was all part of a whole---the first rail entrance to the first National Park in the world!

Livingston downtown now has to make a transition back to a sustainable economy no longer dependent on traditional harvesting of natural resources or its railroad shops.

It is hopeful since it is physically and historically still Livingston is intertwined Yellowstone. Park County took in over $600,000,000 from tourists in 2023. LDBOBA wants its commercial district to attract a greater part of those tourist dollars and still be the center of the town in every way. And the “Base Camp for Yellowstone” (a term trademarked by the LDBOBA with the Montana Secretary of State), but in order to do that we need to have places for tourists to stay in the downtown itself and the Murray is not enough. There is a solution in revitalizing the second story of Livingston’s 20 hotels with the development that the LDBOBA is willing to work hard for: mixed use including hotels like the Murray, the Grabow, the Montana Block. If tourists stay in downtown Livingston, they shop there as well.

What changed for Livingston from its beginning where it flourished. It is the only Yellowstone Gateway community that does not have the main highway for tourists going through the town as it did originally and that is becoming more and more a problem for the downtown. I-90 is two miles away from the downtown and even though 1.9M cars go past Livingston, only five percent making its exit at, for example Exit 333, will ever come to Livingston’s downtown. More and more large hotel chains are being built at the MDOT created exits so that tourists stop, get gas, stay at a corporate motel and do not even know that Livington’s remarkable, historic downtown exists. The LEEP program wants to be sure that Livingston does not go the route of Belgrade and Columbus where I-90 killed their downtowns. Now is our time to meet this challenge head on and the attached LDBOBA strategic plan includes 9 objectives will help us, along with cooperation on all levels, get ahead of the curve and flourish!

In addition, we are actively involved in finding investors who might be interested not only in our hotels, but who could create additional historically accurate looking commercial buildings downtown that would occupy our empty spaces and bring new life to our downtown summer and winter.

We have so much to offer but we need to get customers summer and winter, if we are to become the only community along I-90 to not only survive, but to flourish. The LDBOBA along with its partners and not the Mater Plan are committed to that.

Continue Yellowstone Bus Historic District Tours teaching Livingston’s place as the first rail entrance to the first National Park in the world.

LDBOBA sponsors the Yellowstone bus tours of Livingston’s four historic districts in the summer and special tours for events. This is important to inform visitors of Livingston’s role in the world as the original entrance rail entrance to the first National Park in the world. (There are more than 400 buildings in Livingston on the National Historic Register---more than Philadelphia, Boston, and New York combined!)

Focus on marketing to bring customers to the downtown during the business shoulder season-September through March- including bringing in conventions and tournaments and placement of customer-attracting venues like the Yellowstone Gateway Museum, etc.

Establish three “monument signs” to encourage the 1.9 M people traveling west on I-90 to turn off at Exit 337 Working with BNSF, Park County, Chico Hot Springs, the schools, private businesses, the LDBOBA/LEEP plans to erect three monument signs between the Highway 89 exit three miles east of town and Exit 337 to encourage visitors to turn off of I- 90 and come through downtown Livingston

FYI, “Monument Signs” are low to the ground often with vegetation. They are still 10 feet by 40 feet ‘but are very attractive. The LDBOBA can sell space on the back of the three signs and make money for the LDBOBA. In addition, it plans to add blue business signs at exit 337.

Support “mixed-use” incentives for the second floor of Livingston’s original hotels and actively act to increase the utilization of them as part hotel.

Save as many of the 20 downtown hotel buildings that were built when Livingston was the first rail entrance to the first National Park in the world. Encourage mixed use with part of the second floor as “Boutique Hotels”. Form a downtown Livingston Hotel Association with the potential of advertising Livingston’s historic hotels with highway signage.

This was called “hotel row” since all you could see was hotels along Callender Street, the main road entrance to Livingston. The Grabow, to the front/left has been restored and is functioning as a mixed-use building including a hotel on the seconds and third floor of the building.

Seek out investors in the downtown to build in appropriate places historic-looking new construction.

Actively participate in and keep downtown building owners and businesses in the loop on city activities affecting them including supporting and participating in Livingston’s Master Plan.

Actively support non-profit organizations and encourage them to establish their organizations outside of the Central Business District (CBD), not in the commercial area or in places in the URA district that can affect preferred commercial activity.

One other thing happened was public housing, as it is in other cities, did not move into housing built outside of the commercial district specifically to meet the needs of its residents. Instead, the Miles Hotel which could have been affordable privates sector housing and work force housing, the Sherwood, were taken over and off of the tax roles for the downtown. While we welcome our neighbors, we as an organization concerned about the economic health of the downtown, want to be sure that that does not happen again and that, like organizations like Aspen, find better space outside the commercial district. We want our vulnerable small businesses not to just get by, we want them to thrive!

Continue to support programs we have initiated in Livingston: rail passenger service, the Shane Center, parking lots, murals, statuary, Warren McGee statue. etc.

Support the Livingston’s Master Plan, Growth Policy and “Smart Growth” with growth happening from the CBD outward.

1. Increase ECONOMIC HEALTH of Livingston downtown-its buildings and businesses - offsetting MDOT’s creation of three exits of I-90 that put them two miles from downtown Livington

2. Focus on marketing to bring customers to the downtown during the business shoulder season-September through March- including bringing in conventions and tournaments and placement of customer-attracting venues like the Yellowstone Gateway Museum, etc.

3. Support “mixed-use” incentives for the second floor of Livingston’s original hotels and actively act to increase the utilization of them as part hotel.

4. Seek out investors in the downtown to build in appropriate places historic-looking new construction.

5. Actively participate in and keep downtown building owners and businesses in the loop on city activities affecting them including supporting and participating in Livingston’s Master Plan.

6. Actively support non-profit organizations and encourage them to establish their organizations outside of the Central Business District (CBD), not in the commercial area or in places in the URA district that can affect preferred commercial activity.

7. Continue to support programs we have initiated in Livingston: rail passenger service, the Shane Center, parking lots, murals, statuary, Warren McGee statue. etc.

8. Support the Livingston’s Growth Policy and “Smart Growth” with growth happening from the CBD outward.