BILLINGS — A.J. and Amy Doherty are living the American Dream: beautiful house, three kids, and a golden retriever named Bernard. It’s exactly what they hoped for when they moved from Seattle three years ago, after discovering the new Annafeld subdivision in southwest Billings.
"When we were visiting family, we took a little trip around the neighborhood and I fell in love," Amy said. "I thought it reminded me of America in 1954."
It even comes with its own soda shop - the Maple Moose officially opened Saturday. It’s the first shop in Annafeld’s marketplace, and it’s already a hit.
"Two days ago, (Amy) was there three times," A.J. said with a laugh.
"Once in the morning with one daughter, then another in the afternoon for ice cream with another, and then a date night with him," Amy explained. "I thought, 'This is great!'"
It's exactly what the braintrust at McCall Homes has hoped for.
"We really tried to think about it more as a whole community," said CEO Greg McCall.
Community is McCall's favorite word. He wants to make Annafeld self-sustaining - a place that has all of life’s necessities, including all kinds of people.
"We want to build homes for everyone," he said. "Mixed in throughout Annafeld is people who might be getting their very first rental, or it might be their last home that they're downsizing into.”
You can see construction on a number of different types around Annafeld, including a new set of townhomes on the north side with prices starting around $273,000. That's almost 50 percent lower than the average Billings area home sales price in 2022 of $400,740. It’s the latter number that has the city’s Realtors worried.
"We’re being pushed somewhat from what our average wages and salaries are here," said Liz Francis, president of the Billings Association of Realtors. "We have record numbers of people living at home with their parents right now. I think the last known time with these numbers was during the Great Depression."
"Smaller houses on smaller footprints," added BAR government affairs director Steve Simonson. "That’s one of the ways we can get new first-time home buyers into the marketplace, so Greg’s onto something."
McCall's only concern is that they won’t be able to do enough.
"We worry about whether or not we will be able to provide enough housing," he said. 'We know that continues to be a huge issue."
