The 1962 Travelodge at 1415 North 7th Avenue sold last Tuesday for $3.1 million to Summit Ridge Holdings LLC, a Bozeman LLC registered to a Delaware address. The property includes 38 units on 0.8 acres, zoned B-3. The buyer plans a full interior remodel.

Listing agent Dale Hargrove of Mountain West Commercial said the concept is “curated co-living for the modern mountain professional.” Each unit will become a four-bedroom suite with shared kitchen and coworking nook. Monthly per-bed pricing starts at $1,850 inclusive of utilities, high-speed internet, and “community programming.”

“We’re not building housing,” Hargrove said. “We’re building belonging. The modern knowledge worker doesn’t want a lease. They want a lifestyle platform.” He confirmed a waitlist of 47 names as of Friday morning. The phone number on the leasing website forwards to a 406-555-0192 voicemail box that is not yet set up.

The Travelodge operated continuously since 1962 under three owners. Longtime manager Rita Pohl, 71, retired in March. She said the property cleared $420 per room per month in July 2023. “Folks stayed weeks at a time,” she said. “Construction crews, traveling nurses, families between houses. They cooked in the rooms. We knew their kids’ names.”

Summit Ridge’s managing member is listed as K. Tanaka. Public records show a Kaito Tanaka purchased the former First Security Bank building on East Main in 2024 for $2.8 million. That property now houses a “vertical village” concept with 22 micro-units leasing at $2,100 per month.

The North 7th project targets a September 2027 opening. Construction permits have not yet been filed. The property remains zoned for lodging. A conditional use application for “congregate residence” is expected this month.