During their March 17 meeting, City Commissioners will consider setting a public hearing for April 7 for the vacation of a portion of 5th Avenue North and the aggregation of parcels and rezone requested by the C.M. Russell Museum and Trigg C.M. Russell Foundation.

In late February, the city planning board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the aggregation and rezoning the property from residential and neighborhood commercial to match the museum’s zoning of PLI Public Lands and Institutional.

Rezone, aggregation for Russell Museum future expansion gets initial OK from city

The request to vacate 5th Avenue North between 12th and 13th streets goes straight to the commission for consideration.

The museum is currently going through a master plan process and considering expansion.

Rezone, aggregation considered for Russell Museum’s future expansion

Museum officials visited the neighborhood council in February and the council was supportive of the project.

C.M. Russell Museum acquires property, exploring options for expansion

Thomas Figarelle, the museum’s executive director, said in February that the first phase of their plan includes added parking lots and greenspace, as well as a preparatory studio at the property addressed as 1125 5th Ave. N. That studio would be built on a half lot already owned by the museum and the exterior would be made to match the residential character of the neighborhood, he said.

He’s optimistic that those parts of the plan can be completed this year or next, he said.

Return to Calgary is open at the Russell Museum through Sept. 30 (2019)

The longterm master plan is very much in the preliminary stages and Figarelle said in February that staff hopes to present a plan to their board in June that if accepted would firm up their plans though any major expansion projects would be contingent on fundraising capabilities.

Their effort to plan for the future is really a manifestation of at least three decades of work by the museum, Figarelle said, when the museum and foundation started acquiring properties across the street in the 1990s. For years, the museum had owned all but one of the properties on the northside of 5th Street North between 12th and 13th Streets until last summer when a donation was made allowing the museum to acquire the last remaining property.

The homes were deemed unsalvagable and demolished in December.

In terms of event parking, greenspace, the sculpture garden and more, Figarelle said “we’ve really maxed out” the space we have.

The last update to the building was in the 1990s and Figarelle said rezoning and aggregating the properties would allow the museum to begin setting the stage for a possible major expansion of the museum itself to stay comparable with other worldclass art museums and continue showcasing the best of western art.

Figarelle said the museum would not hold more than one event monthly at max, to allay resident concerns over increased parking and activity in the neighborhood.

He said there was no intention to move the Russell auction to the museum grounds since even with the possible future expansion there simply wouldn’t be enough space for everything the event requires.

Based on recommendations provided by the Cascade City-County Health Department, the City of Great Falls has temporarily changed the City Commission meetings format to limit the spread and impact of COVID-19. The meetings will only address items that are of urgent concern, including mandatory and priority items on the consent agenda.

Citizens concerned about potential exposure or are not able to attend the meeting may submit public comment by emailing the commission at: commission@greatfallsmt.net or through the city’s website under the Contact Us section. These comments will be provided to the City Commission and appropriate staff prior to the meeting.