Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the city of Kalispell and Kidsports announced last Friday they have chosen a developer for their collaborative Victory Commons project.

More than a dozen firms showed interest in leasing and developing the Victory Commons site. It is made up of 28 acres of school trust land along U.S. 93 between Costco and the Kidsports athletic complex.

After a request for proposals, the three parties chose Goldberg Properties, Inc., a retail development firm based in Denver, Colo., and The Kroenke Group, a real estate investment and development firm based in Columbia, Mo.

“Goldberg/TKG have extensive experience with public/private development partnerships. We think they’re a good fit for this project,” Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Director Mary Sexton said in a press release Friday.

“The city, DNRC and Kidsports have forged a strong partnership through years of collaboration. All of us look forward to working with Goldberg/TKG to maximize revenue for K-12 schools and grow the Flathead’s economy.”

Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation now will try to negotiate a commercial ground lease that must be approved by the State Land Board to take effect.

About half of the school trust land being made available for development is land that Kidsports and Kalispell agreed to release from their 40-year lease of 134 acres.

Kidsports entered its lease through Kalispell in 1996 and makes the annual lease payment. A mandatory mid-lease reappraisal could make the payment unaffordable because of extensive commercial development in the area.

In exchange for a right to lease and develop that land, the developer would make a one-time payment to Kidsports. That payment is meant to give the nonprofit Kidsports a head start on raising the money it needs to buy a permanent easement for the rest of its school trust land, something estimated to cost about $2.4 million.

Dan Johns, president of Kidsports, in Friday’s press release called Victory Commons a win-win for DNRC and the community. Johns added this agreement “represents an important step down the path toward a permanent easement on the athletic complex for Kalispell and Kidsports.”

Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz said Friday that Victory Commons will benefit Kidsports, Montana’s school trust coffers and lead to more economic development in the city.

“Not only does the city have the opportunity to create a long-term solution for Kidsports, but we will open up another retail site for future growth in the community, allowing us to support the State School Trust as the property is developed,” Jentz said.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.