One of downtown Helena's great survivors is finally getting its second act.
Crews began Phase One of the Iron Front Hotel restoration this week at 415 N Last Chance Gulch. Built in 1888, it's on the National Register of Historic Places — Montana's only known building with a prefabricated iron facade. An August 2023 fire gutted it and displaced 30 residents. Now the comeback starts: a $1.5 million first phase covering exterior work, sidewalks, boilers, and historic preservation.
The plan: 20 apartments on the upper floors — described as relatively affordable for downtown — and five luxury condos on the fourth floor, branded the Windsor Collection, debuting in 2027 with asking prices from $665,000 to over $1.5 million. The ground-floor General Mercantile stays put.
A landmark reborn is always worth celebrating. The affordable-versus-luxury split will give Helena plenty to debate.
Watch the Gulch. The iron is rising again.