The roughly 3,000 acres of land off U.S. Highway 89, previously planned for the Madison Food Park, are for sale.
The listing comes after the Great Falls Development Alliance moved forward with foreclosure in court since the MFP owners hadn’t made payment on their overdue loans.
Big Sky Cheese defaulted on their loan with the Great Falls Development Authority in 2023.
Brett Doney, GFDA’s president, told The Electric in December 2022 that the company hadn’t paid interest over the entire fiscal year on their bridge loan.
In February 2023, GFDA filed a civil lawsuit in district court over more than $2 million in unpaid loans and placed liens on the Madison Food Park properties east of Great Falls.
Doney told The Electric this month that they’re hopeful for a market value sale, but are in first position on the loans and “we’ll fully recover.”
Lawsuit filed against Madison Food Park over unpaid loans [2023]
Ed Boland Construction also sued Madison Food Park in 2022 for breach of contract over unpaid invoices, totalling $42,448. That litigation is also ongoing.
The Cascade County Zoning Board of Adjustment approved extensions for three Madison Food Park projects in November 2023.
County grants 2-year extension for Madison Food Park projects [2023]
The county approved permit extensions for
- Big Sky Cheese to December 2025
- Silver Falls Distillery to November 2025
- Friesen Nutrition’s vitamin trace minerals blending facility to December 2025
The Madison Food Park proposal is effectively dead, but Doney said that Ed Friesen was still looking to do other projects in the area, such as a potential mixing plant after selling his former mixing business, Friesen Nutrition, at 748 Crescent Circle. That property is now owned by Flower and is set to be a marijuana cultivation facility and dispensary.
Commissioners vote 3-2 to approve marijuana cultivation permit
*Photo from the Catalyst Commercial real estate listing
