GFDA 1st Qtr Index 2025 – The Numbers that Drive Us!
Number of presenters at Ignite 2025: 27
Size of The Falls mixed-use development announced at Ignite: 100 acres
Estimated total investment to construct The Falls: $500-700 million
The Falls development by the numbers: 831 residential units, 2 hotels, 630,000 square feet of retail and office, 12+ restaurants, 20 acres of landscaped public spaces, 2 miles of trails
Amount of federally guaranteed loan closed by Montana Renewables: $1.55 billion
Increased capacity of Montana Renewables expansion: 300 million gallons of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), 330 million gallons of combined SAF and Renewable Diesel (RD)
Prospect site visits to Great Falls during quarter: 7
Proposals submitted to state-generated leads during quarter: 5
Unmet demand for new housing units in Great Falls since 2024 market assessment: 1,300
Record number of female entrepreneur award winners at The Fire Within 2025: 56
Cost of living in Great Falls in 2024 compared to national average: 90.0%
Cost of living in Billings in 2024: 99.8%
Manufacturing growth in Montana in 2024: 9.6%
Montana manufacturing growth since 2017: 80%
Number of new businesses that opened in Downtown Great Falls in 2024: 18
New private investment in Downtown Great Falls in 2024: over $12.5 million
Downtown Great Falls tax increment project support approved in 2024: $150,908
Private investment leveraged by these TIF funds: $1,042,817
Number of unique visitors to Downtown Great Falls in 2024: 522,205
Total number of visits to Downtown Great Falls in 2024: 8,259,561
New project leads we secured and started work on during quarter: 29
Previous client projects we worked on during quarter: 42
Companies we provided business development services to during quarter: 321
Business development activities with these companies during quarter: 1,126
GFDA gap and bridge loans closed during quarter: $760,935
Additional investment leveraged by these loans: $247,565
Additional GFDA gap and bridge loans approved during quarter: $1,328,000
Additional investment to be leveraged by these loans: $3,214,240
New loan capital secured during quarter: $750,000
SBA 504 loans closed during quarter: $493,000
Additional investment leveraged by these loans: $720,000
Additional SBA 504 loans approved during quarter: $333,000
Entrepreneurs and small business (SBDC) clients advised during quarter: 220
Rural clients advised during quarter: 76
Total client advising hours: 512
Capital secured by small business advising clients during quarter: $3,920,285
Entrepreneur and small business trainings during quarter: 7
Number of training participants: 84
Government contracting (APEX) clients advised during quarter: 73
New government contracting clients advised during quarter: 16
Government contracting advising sessions during quarter: 170
Active government contracting clients at end of quarter: 254
Government contracts won by clients: $15,532,579
Government contracting trainings during quarter: 2
Number of training participants: 78
Free Phase 1 brownfield assessments we completed for clients during quarter: 3
Investments, loans, and grants our Food & Ag Development Center has helped entrepreneurial clients in region secure in last 2 years: $1.94 million
Number of food and ag business touch points this quarter: 185
Number of unique food and ag businesses worked with during quarter: 50
Businesses in our region that won Growth Through Agriculture funding: 5
Food/Ag conferences we networked at during quarter: 5
Number of commercial marketplaces in Montana in 2023: 130
Number of business tenants in these marketplaces: 5,508
Number of employees: 120,764 (16% of state total)
Property taxes paid by Montana marketplaces in 2023: $111.6 million
Construction and redevelopment investment in Montana marketplaces in 2023: $180 million
Data center investment in U.S. in 2024: $68.5 billion
Projected compound annual growth rate in data center investment through 2030: 23%
Montana rank in Shopify’s Best States to Start a Business in 2025: Top 10
Montana rank in Shopify’s Least Expensive State to Start a Business in 2025: Top 5
Montana rank in Shopify’s Best State with Fewest Regulations: 4th
Montana rank in Booking.com’s Best State for Business Startups: 1st
Total solar power-generating capacity built to date in Montana: 321 MW
Total solar investment in Montana to date: $515 million
Projected solar power-generating capacity to be constructed in U.S. in 2025: 32.5 GW
Projected new wind power-generating capacity to be constructed in U.S. in 2025: 7.7 GW
Foreign Direct Investment in U.S. in record-setting 2024: $231 billion
For more info, contact Jolene Schalper at JSchalper@GrowGreatFalls.org or 1-406-750-4481