Progress on Peets Hill

October 15, 2021

On August 27, less than two months ago, we announced that a 12-acre parcel on the southern end of Peets Hill was for sale. The undeveloped parcel would increase the size of Peets Hill/Burke Park by 30% and includes a well-established spur trail that connects Peets Hill to Kagy Boulevard and the rest of the Main Street to the Mountains Trail system.

We were both excited and nervous to announce this campaign. On the one hand, Peets Hill is the crown jewel of Bozeman, and we knew the community would rally around this project. On the other, nonprofits typically take one to two years to plan out a campaign of this magnitude. Our fundraising goal of $800,000.00 was nothing to sneeze at. But opportunities like this arise once every 30 years, sometimes less, and we knew there was no time to spare.

What has happened over the last few weeks has been nothing short of remarkable. We received an outpouring of support for the Peets Hill purchase, from individuals to businesses to foundations. Both the Mysun Charitable Foundation and the Kendeda Fund agreed to match individual donations. Dee-O-Gee sponsored the Peets Pack initiative, encouraging pet owners to give gifts in honor of their beloved dogs. Children came into our office to donate their allowances. To date, we have received over 600 donations in support of protecting Peets’ final piece, half of which are from donors completely new to our organization.

We are thrilled to announce that thanks to your unyielding support, we have officially met our GVLT fundraising goal of $800,000.  

But we are not done yet.

Now, we are turning to our friends at the City of Bozeman for their support in securing funding for the rest of the project. The next step will be to apply for Cash-in-Lieu of Parkland Funding. These funds are obtained by the City during the development proposal approval process as required by state law. Local developers pay to establish and protect parks and open spaces like Peets Hill. Funds may be used for improvements that are included in a previously approved park master plan in any City-owned or City-maintained park, or in association with a new or revised park master plan, with City Commission approval.

We have already begun the process of meeting with City of Bozeman and discussing funding for Peets Hill. We hope to have final project approval by mid-November and must close on the Peets Hill property in January. Please take a a moment click here and sign our letter of support for our Cash in Lieu of Parkland application.

Stay tuned for more updates on our application process with the City.