DEER LODGE – Some believe an empty field could be the answer to one of Deer Lodge’s biggest problems: a lack of housing.

Corner Post General Contracting recently held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the ceremonial moving of earth on a site where the company plans to build apartments, townhomes and single-family homes.

“I’ve heard from everyone in town that this is a big problem here, that there is not enough housing. The people who want to come back to Deer Lodge can’t because there aren’t enough homes for their families,” said Lin Hicks, owner of Corner Post General Contracting.

The developer is building the Beaumont Place housing development on 44 acres at the east end of Deer Lodge along Interstate 90. It’s the first new housing development in 70 years in this town of about 3,000 residents. Deer Lodge native Gary Swant is old enough to remember when Deer Lodge was booming.

“When I grew up here, 600 kids attended high school, today there are only 180,” Swant said.

Some residents of the project area expressed concerns about the impacts of the major construction project on the land, for example in the form of local flooding.

“Our goal was to make sure we didn’t just come in and try to take what was good for us. We wanted to make sure the community was better off because of what we were doing,” Hicks said.

By December, some apartments will be ready at the southern end of the district.

A longtime Stark Street resident who lives next to the project supports the new subdivision.

“I think it could benefit the community, more people, more families, maybe more businesses coming back to town. I don’t think it could hurt at all,” Joy Ryan said.