Malls · Montana
Capital Hill Mall
Opened 1965. Closed 2017. Redeveloped in 2020.
Status nowDemolishedextracted, unreviewed
documented
Demolition of the vacant mall began in February 2019, and the final wall was brought down on March 27, 2019.
What it becameretail, office, healthcareextracted, unreviewed reported
Site size213,000 sq ft GLAextracted, unreviewed reported
Retrofit year2020extracted, unreviewed reported
Walkability10.7 of 20 · 15-minute 6 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap
Rail within 800 mNoOpenStreetMap, HUD
Ask who owns this Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this recordhttps://retrofitatlas.org/malls/mt/helena-capital-hill-mall/
Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.
Site profile14 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
Finance and pipeline
On Facebook
This site: …https://www.facebook.com/152165474809092 overture · all sites with thisWebsite dead or redirecting
This site: …http://capitalhillmall.com overture / http check · all sites with thisPlace
15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)
This site: 6/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this200+ tax-credit housing units within 1 km
This site: 236 units in 6 properties hud-lihtc · all sites with thisBike network nearby
This site: 14 ways openstreetmap · all sites with thisFast-growing county (8%+ 2018–23)
This site: 8% census-acs · all sites with thisGrocery within 800 m
This site: 4 stores openstreetmap · all sites with thisNational Register place within 500 m
This site: Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building nps-nrhp · all sites with thisRenter-majority tract
This site: 55% census-acs · all sites with thisTract house prices doubled in 10 years
This site: +120% fhfa · all sites with thisStrategy
Redeveloped
This site: New developments including a Taco Bell, Starbucks, a bank, and a medical office. extraction · all sites with thisNew use
Medical and health
This site: …evelopments including a Taco Bell, Starbucks, a bank, and a medical office. extraction · all sites with thisOffice
This site: …nts including a Taco Bell, Starbucks, a bank, and a medical office. extraction · all sites with thisRetail (continued)
This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with thisNow
| Status | Demolishedextracted, unreviewed documentedDemolition of the vacant mall began in February 2019, and the final wall was brought down on March 27, 2019. |
|---|---|
| Strategy | Redevelopedextracted, unreviewed documentedIn August 2020, construction began on new developments at the site, including a Taco Bell, Starbucks, a bank, and a medical office. |
| New uses | retail, office, healthcareextracted, unreviewed reported |
| What is there now | New developments including a Taco Bell, Starbucks, a bank, and a medical office.extracted, unreviewed documentedIn August 2020, construction began on new developments at the site, including a Taco Bell, Starbucks, a bank, and a medical office. |
| Retrofit year | 2020extracted, unreviewed reported |
Site context
| FEMA flood zone | DFEMA NFHL |
|---|---|
| EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m | 19: AMERICAN FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK; BENEFIS HEALTH SYSTEMS; BULLOCK CONTRACTING - DNRC BUILDING; CAPITAL FORD LINCOLN MERCURY TOYOTA; CAPITAL HILL MALL DEMOEPA FRS |
| Census tract 30049000900 | 4,365 people, 3,871 per sq mi; median household income $62,159; median gross rent $986; 55% renters; 5.4% vacant units; 0.0% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year |
| Walkability (EPA, block group) | index 10.7 of 20; 86 intersections per sq mi; no transit stop within the EPA search radius; land-use mix 0.86; 14,605 jobs within 45 min by car; 34% of households without a carEPA Smart Location |
| Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m) | 6 of 6 daily needs: 4 grocers, 4 schools, 46 parks or playgrounds, 9 health, 6 civic, 25 food and drink; 14 cycleway segments, 342 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap |
| Opportunity Zone | noHUD |
| National Register places within 500 m | 1: Montana Veterans and Pioneers Memorial BuildingNPS |
| Housing permits, Lewis and Clark County (MT), 2024 | 198 units in 5+ unit buildings, 147 in 2–4, 99 single-family; 2023: 141 in 5+Census BPS |
| Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract) | overall percentile 0.47; socioeconomic 0.43; housing and transport 0.66; 19% below 150% of poverty; 12% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR |
| Overture Maps | place Capital Hill Mall (shopping_mall, confidence 0.68, from Overture, Overture-signals, meta); building footprint 5,073 m², 7.7116217613220215 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0) |
| Website and social | capitalhillmall.com (down or redirecting, status 0); archived 2001–2016 (Wayback) · social: facebookOverture / Internet Archive |
| Attention: Wikipedia page views | 436 since 2015; 436 in the last 12 months; peak 2026-07 with 116Wikimedia |
| Tract change 2013–2023 | population +20% (3,640 → 4,365); median income +48% ($42,052 → $62,159); renters 56% → 55%; median home value +72% ($174,200 → $299,200)Census ACS 5-year |
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract) | relatively low overall (score 43.2); expected annual loss $1.5M; high: winter weather, cold wave; community resilience relatively highFEMA NRI |
| Tax-credit housing within 1 km | 6 LIHTC properties, 236 units: Penkay Eagles Manor (66 units); Eagle Manor Ii (44 units); Eagles Manor Ii (44 units)HUD LIHTC |
| Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW) | 4,674 jobs in 268 establishments; average annual pay $42,413; employment location quotient 1.19; employment +6.2% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private |
| Jobs located in the tract, 2022 | 3,860 jobs; 496 in retail trade, 634 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 30049000900)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022 |
| Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract) | children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 40th income percentile as adults; 3.0% incarcerated at the 2010 count (483 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights |
| Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract) | not a low-access tract at 1 mile; poverty rate 20.6%; median family income $53,750; 354 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS |
| Schools | Helena High School District (09-12); 9 public schools within 1 mile: Bryant School; Central School; Jefferson School; Smith SchoolNCES EDGE |
| Elevation | 4,052 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP |
| Storm events in the county, 2016-2025 | 115 county-logged events: 46 thunderstorm wind, 29 heavy rain, 15 hail, 15 flood; $817,000 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events |
| Homes for sale in ZIP 59601, 2026-09 | median list price $489,950 (+3.8% on the year); 76 active listings; median 54 days on market; 21% with a price cutRealtor.com Research |
| Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023 | 283 establishments (+3%); 4,124 jobs (+10%)Census CBP |
| Housing market in the county | typical home value $466,454 (+3% 1 yr, +27% 5 yr); typical rent $1,648/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research |
| House price index, tract, 2025 | 621 (2000 = 100); +6.8% 1 yr, +79% 5 yr, +120% 10 yrFHFA |
| Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024) | 19,114 vehicles a day on 12 (principal arterial, 4 lanes); 502 trucks; 40 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS |
Summary, model-written
Capital Hill Mall opened in 1965 as Helena's first enclosed mall and operated for over five decades. It began losing anchors in the 2010s, with Dillard's announcing closure in 2010 and JCPenney and Lucky Lil's Casino closing in 2017, leading to the mall's official closure that year. Demolition started in 2019 and new construction began in 2020, resulting in retail, office, and healthcare buildings.
Why. The primary causes visible in the record are the loss of anchor tenants (Dillard's, JCPenney, Lucky Lil's Casino) and the subsequent decline that led to closure and demolition.
Where it stands. The site has been demolished and rebuilt with new retail, office, and healthcare uses; control after 2020 is not specified in the record.
For a planner
- - The record notes a redevelopment strategy with planned new uses (retail, office, healthcare).
- - No explicit policy tools or incentives are mentioned in the record.
- - Open questions include long-term tenant performance and integration with the surrounding urban fabric.
- - The county’s 8.2% population growth (2018‑23) suggests market potential but is not tied to specific policies.
For a developer
- - Site size: 213,000 sq ft GLA.
- - Original control: Don F. Hobinson and William H. Miles (joint venture) held ownership from 1965 to 2019; post‑2020 control is not detailed.
- - Entitlement stage: demolition completed 2019, new construction began 2020, and after‑notes indicate built retail/office/healthcare projects.
- - Context layers (flood, transit, environment) are not described in the record.
- - Market signals: opp_score 0.0, opp_reasons cite retrofit already built, closed/demolished site, and county grew 8.2% 2018‑23.
What we do not know yet
- - Current owner or managing entity after 2020 is not specified.
- - Zoning, land‑use approvals, and any environmental constraints are absent from the record.
- - Financial performance of the new retail/office/healthcare tenants is unknown.
- - The extraction‑based fields (e.g., year_retrofit, after_notes) are marked as unverified draft.
- - No information on transit access, flood risk, or nearby competition.
Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.
Similar sites
- Former JCPenney building, Edina, MN · Malls · similar GLA (247,902 sq ft); opened 1972; closed 2017
- Harding Mall, Nashville, TN · Malls · similar GLA (264,000 sq ft); opened 1967; same strategy: redevelop
- Quenby Mall, Stanly County, NC · Malls · similar GLA (160,000 sq ft); opened 1966; same strategy: redevelop
- Salem Mall, Trotwood, OH · Malls · similar GLA (274,652 sq ft); opened 1966; same strategy: redevelop
Elsewhere on the web
Pages with photos
- Capital Hill Mall - Helena, Montana | A shot of the Capital … | Flickr flickr.com
- Derelict Capital Hill Mall sign as they near the completion of ... alamy.com
- Capital Hill Mall helenahistory.org
- Helena's Capital Hill Mall set for demolition next year youtube.com
- Demolition is underway on Helena's Capital Hill Mall helenair.com
- Video: Crews demolish Helena's Capital Hill Mall - Construction ... cdrecycler.com
- A small mall from my neck of the woods. Capital Hill Mall in Helena… reddit.com
Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar
Multifamily screen
- retrofit already built
- closed or demolished site (sourced)
- county grew 8.2% 2018–23
Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.
History and original facts
| Opened | 1965extracted, unreviewed |
|---|---|
| Closed | 2017extracted, unreviewed documentedThe mall operated for over five decades, from 1965 to 2017, before being demolished in February 2019. |
| Gross leasable area | 213,000 sq ftextracted, unreviewed |
| Original developer | Don F. Hobinson and William H. Milesextracted, unreviewed documentedCapital Hill Mall was a joint-venture between Don F. Hobinson and William H. Miles; |
| Anchors | Hennessy's, Albertsons Food Center |
| County | Lewis and Clark County |
| Census division | 8 · Mountain |
| Notes | Wikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States |
Not yet recorded: acres. Know it? Tell us.
Background
Capital Hill Mall was an enclosed shopping center in Helena, Montana. It opened on March 4, 1965, and was the first and only enclosed mall in the city. The mall operated for over five decades, from 1965 to 2017, before being demolished in February 2019.
Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.
Timeline
- 1965 Opened
- 1982 Expansion and remodel project began
- 1984 Expansion grand opening
- 1998 Hennessy's acquired by Dillard's
- 2010 Dillard's announced closure
- 2017 Lucky Lil's Casino closure announced
- 2017 Mall officially closed
- 2017 JCPenney closure announced
- 2019 Demolition began
- 2020 New construction began
Sources
- Wikipedia: Capital Hill Mall · supports: after notes, gla sqft, original developer, status, strategy, year closed, year opened
17 quoted sentences
It opened on March 4, 1965,
The mall operated for over five decades, from 1965 to 2017, before being demolished in February 2019.
The mall was 213,000 sq ft.
Capital Hill Mall was a joint-venture between Don F. Hobinson and William H. Miles;