Hockaday seeks loan to fund expansion

By JOHN STANG

The Daily Inter Lake

The Hockaday Museum of Art is thinking about buying the house to its south so the cramped center can expand.

The museum is seeking a $170,000 loan from the city of Kalispell to buy the property from the Saverud family. Hockaday currently has an option on the site.

The potential loan is in the city's proposed 2006-07 budget of $55.747 million, which is scheduled for a preliminary council vote Monday. That fiscal year begins July 1.

"We've totally run out of space," said Fred Leistiko, chairman of the Hockaday's board of directors. Leistiko also is the city's airport manager.

The airport is not connected to the city's Community Development Revolving Loan Fund, which would provide the $170,000 if the council approves the loan.

The private, nonprofit museum is in a roughly 6,500-square-foot building that was constructed in 1904 as a Carnegie-financed library, and became an arts center in 1968. The Hockaday's membership has grown from about 400 to 750 in the past five years.

The museum does not have room for its all of its art collections, visiting exhibits and classrooms for children, Leistiko said.

Meanwhile, the Saverud family put the house next to the museum on the market, and the Hockaday wants the city to buy it. The city of Kalispell owns the Hockaday building, and the city owning the house would keep the ownership situation simple, Leistiko said.

Leistiko told the Kalispell City Council that the museum needs to buy the house soon or it will lose its option on the site - and that the museum does not have $170,000 for a purchase in the near future.

If the extra land is bought, the museum would expand its present building south, likely doubling its space. Leistiko told the council that the proposed expansion likely would cost from $3 million to $4 million.

The museum board has a request for proposals ready to distribute to architects if the site purchase is made.

Board members are keeping mum about specific expansion details, including how it plans to raise the money needed, until a later date, Leistiko said.

The museum has been approached by a Whitefish family about opening a branch there. However, board members do not think the museum can effectively operate in two towns at the same time, Leistiko said.