Condominiums will begin to rise this summer above Le Grande Cannon Boulevard, and some may pay more than $200,000 for the right to build on the northern slope of Mount Helena.

Developer Marc Parriman on Tuesday said he expects infrastructure work to be complete by June 23. Homebuilding will begin soon after, and sales already have closed on about a dozen of the sites.

Workers have installed most of the water and sewer lines supplying the property, and construction began Tuesday on a 500,000-gallon water tank, which will serve the subdivision and alleviate long-standing water-pressure problems at some homes on the city’s west side.

Parriman will meet with city officials today to negotiate improvements to part of the unpaved portion of Le Grande Cannon Boulevard, which leads to the subdivision.

The neighborhood, originally approved for up to 113 residential units, has been scaled down to include about 85 condominiums in a mix of free-standing homes and duplexes.

Folks looking to live on the mountain are being asked to pay between $80,000 and $229,000, Parriman said, for the right to build condos — at an additional building cost — on the sites. Buyers will own the structures but not the land, which will be maintained by a condominium association.

Parriman, former Carroll College football standout Tyler Emmert and a silent partner own Benchmark Development LLC, which is bringing to fruition the old Reber Planned Unit Development.

It’s actually the second phase of the development and has remained vacant since it was approved 30 years ago. Homes have been built in the first phase, north of Le Grande Cannon, for years. But the cost and logistics of supplying water to the area had made it unfeasible to build upslope from the winding dirt roadway.

Market conditions have changed in recent years, however, making the $1.55 million price tag for the water tank easier for developers to swallow. And though the housing sector has slowed in the past few months, Parriman is confident buyers will continue to purchase sites.

Last year, news of the development sparked some heated discussion at public meetings, along with plenty of letters to the editor and some talk of litigation, while at the same time residents of the existing Reber development signed a petition to change covenants governing the property, thereby allowing Benchmark to move forward with the project.

Parriman said he’s since heard positive support for the development. He and his partners, he said, are cognizant of some of the concerns surrounding the development — he’s working closely with the city to improve Le Grande Cannon, and he’s met with the director of the Prickly Pear Land Trust to discuss accommodations for hikers who formerly used a trail across the property to access the Mount Helena City Park.

Parriman has also worked to address concerns that the water tank would be too visible on the mountain slope. He plans to plant trees and shrubs around the site to help shield it from view.

He estimates his company will spend about $200,000 to pave Le Grande Cannon, with the city chipping in to cover some of the costs. He said he’s only obligated under the development’s original approval to build a pedestrian path along the roadway, but he realizes the road can’t be left in its current condition.

“We realize it’s important,” he said. “We’re willing to go over and above (what’s required).”

Helena Public Works Director John Rundquist said the road project could get under way this summer. The street will look like the existing paved portion of Le Grande Cannon, with a 20-foot-wide roadway and an adjacent bike path.

“It might come together this summer,” he said. “It depends on how fast things move, but we’re going to give it a shot.”

Reporter Larry Kline: 447-4075 or larry.kline@helenair.com