Sawmill District looks to future tech, commercial growth with ATG as anchor
May 3, 2018
oldsawmill
Construction in the Old Sawmill District will continue through the summer as crews work to complete Cambium Place, pictured, which ATG will occupy this winter. (Martin Kidston/Missoula Current)
Construction in the Old Sawmill District will continue through the summer as crews work to complete Cambium Place, pictured, which ATG will occupy this winter. (Martin Kidston/Missoula Current)
When Advanced Technology Group packs its bags and heads across the river to the Old Sawmill District later this year, the rapidly growing tech company will serve as the development’s first major business anchor.
It could also draw other tech-based companies to the urban hub, fulfilling a vision held by the developers when they broke ground on the Old Sawmill District several years ago.
“We kind of identified the types of businesses we wanted down there, and we felt it was really a great place for a tech company with everything we have to offer,” said Leslie Wetherbee, one of the project’s developers.
“People are really starting to notice all of a sudden and we’re getting a lot of phone calls,” she added. “We feel ATG will be a major anchor there, and other tech companies are going to take a look at it and realize what we have there and want to be there, too.”
The district, which served as a shuttered sawmill less than a decade ago, has since blossomed into an urban hub. Four condominium buildings will
be open and occupied this year, and a student housing project is set for completion next spring. The development also plans to break ground on its seventh structure this year, though it has plenty of remaining space for future projects.
That availability, combined with 1 gig of fiber, made the district an ideal location for ATG as it considers its future.
Tom Stergios, senior vice president of the company’s Missoula operations, said ATG will occupy the top two floorsof the new Cambium Building, though other building options within the district will accommodate the firm’s anticipated growth.
