Glacier Bank expands in downtown Kalispell

At the Main Street Glacier Bank in Kalispell, space is at a premium.

Desks and work stations are stuck in corners and stairwells. A copy machine stands in the middle of a walkway.

The bank has outgrown its current location, so it's adding another building and an architectural first to downtown - a sky bridge.

Glacier Bank has already started an expansion project that will move parts of the business into the old Conlin's furniture store and will join the two buildings with a sky bridge.

"Our business has grown as has the entire valley," Glacier Bank President Bob Nystuen said. "We just don't have any more room for any more employees."

Glacier has 105 employees crammed - literally - into the downtown building. As the business has grown, workers have been tucked into every nook and cranny the building has to offer. But there's no more room up for grabs.

The bank bought the Conlin's building, which sits on the corner of Main and Second streets. Glacier is remodeling the building now and expects to finish that stage this fall.

Some employees will move over to that building and others will stay in the current location while it's being revamped. The whole project will be completed in the second quarter of 2006 and will cost $6.5 million.

The Conlin's building will house loan-related departments, such as commercial lending and mortgage processing. The current building will handle deposit-related functions such as new accounts and tellers. The bottom floor will have space for employee training, something the bank has no room for now, Nystuen said.

The enclosed sky bridge will span Second Street to connect the buildings so employees and customers can travel between the two without going outside. The bridge is certain to draw attention as the only one of its kind in Kalispell.

"Although it's dramatic, it's not as difficult (to build) as you might imagine," said Don Counsell of Architects Northwest in Kalispell,

Sky bridges aren't hard to design or construct, they just require the appropriate structural engineering, he said. Three-fourths of the bridge will be constructed off site, then it will be moved downtown and connected to the buildings.

The bridge will be about 8 feet wide on the inside and enclosed with glass.

Glacier considered other locations and options for the necessary expansion, Nystuen said. But staying on Main Street was the most appealing.

"We feel like we're an anchor in downtown Kalispell," he said.

The bank has been downtown since it was founded 50 years ago, so there also was a historical incentive to remain there.

The Conlin's building and the sky bridge give the bank a logical way to stay on Main Street without having buildings spread throughout the core business district or elsewhere in the city, Nystuen said.

Another notable feature of the project is that neither building will have entrances on Main Street. Instead the main entrances will be on Second Street under the sky bridge. Locating the entrances on Second Street will make the two separate buildings feel more cohesive, create a plaza-type atmosphere and will be closer to parking, Nystuen said.

In keeping with the plaza concept, the bank plans to add planters and continue the Streetscape guidelines of colored sidewalks and exaggerated corners to aid pedestrian crossing like those found on First Avenues east and west.

The Montana Department of Transportation, though, will weigh in on the corners because U.S. 93 is part of the urban highway system, so the department might have concerns about snow removal or safety, Nystuen said.

The Kalispell City Council also will have a say. The sidewalk corners would mean the loss of a few parking spaces on Second Street, so the city might nix them. Glacier recently met with the council and some members said they weren't happy that five parking spots would be lost.

The council and the transportation department will decide on the matter in the near future.

The project as a whole, though, will add parking. Glacier is razing the small building that houses investment broker company Raymond James in the parking lot behind Conlin's. The lot used to be for bank employees and is being used for construction staging.

Raymond James will move into the current Glacier Bank building and the parking lot will add about nine spaces, bringing the total to approximately 18.

That lot will be for short-term public parking.

The City Council might also have to grant Glacier an air easement, meaning the bank can use the air space above the street that is considered public right of way. At its meeting with the bank, the council said it had no problem with that easement.

Reporter Camden Easterling can be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at ceasterling@dailyinterlake.com