An IR view

We suspect reaction will be mixed to the concept of a building rising 11 stories above Helena's downtown.

Many will applaud the proposed Blue Cross Blue Shield tower as a way of keeping the insurance firm - and its economic impact - in the city's center, avoiding suburban sprawl on the outskirts, and remaining a workplace that many employees can walk to.

Others will mourn such a drastic revision of a downtown skyline that has been largely unchanged for 100 years.

City officials and Downtown Helena, Inc. made the proposal after learning that the company was considering a move to the edge of Helena at Nob Hill or the north side. In addition to the need for a larger office, BCBS has long bemoaned the lack of adequate and secure parking spaces. The new building would contain six floors of parking - three below ground level and three above.

A company spokeswoman said no decision has been made, and BCBS will continue to evaluate both the idea of a 11-story building on Fuller and Placer and its other options elsewhere.

While hardly a "skyscraper" by big-city standards, 11 stories would soar something like four stories above any other building in the downtown - many that, like the Montana Club, are replete with historical and architectural interest. Certainly a new, modern high-rise office building would alter - and dominate - the cityscape.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing. And in this age of green consciousness, an energy-efficient, sprawl-denying, walking-accessible building to keep the company's 600 or so Helena employees downtown makes a great deal of sense.