Hutton Ranch development fills in around theaters

By NANCY KIMBALL

The Daily Inter Lake

It might be hard to trump the wildly successful May opening of Hu Hot Mongolian Grill, but Hutton Ranch Plaza developer Phil Harris is just as excited about the rest of his 46-acre development on the north side of Kalispell.

And yes, it's meeting his expectations.

"You bet it is," Harris said, taking a long-enough break from overseeing the $75 million to $100 million project to give an update for the coming months.

"I'm a theater builder and operator by trade. I've built a lot over the years," said the owner of the Gateway Cinemas, Liberty and Strand theaters, and Midway Drive-In.

Harris hatched plans for a 14-screen theater complex, then "looked for property to accommodate the theater and some retail around it. I saw there was a need, and ended up with quite a bit more."

Since construction began last July, three businesses have opened on the property bisected by Hutton Ranch Road:

. Hu Hot Mongolian Grill served its first meals to the public on May 23. Despite the rain, lines of hungry diners wrapped through the vestibule and outside the door for the next week. It hasn't slowed down since.

"They're setting records (far and above) any other restaurant in their system," Harris said. "They are serving extraordinary numbers of people."

. Close on Hu Hot's heels, the Tack Shed opened June 4. The store offers a full line of horse supplies in the best Western fashion.

. Cartridge World, a national franchise offering predominantly refilled and refillable ink cartridges and toners at substantial discounts, also is open for business.

Both the Tack Shed and Cartridge World are on the north side of an 18,000-square-foot retail building - with an exterior still under construction - directly facing the Signature Stadium 14-theater complex in the development's far northeast corner.

Harris just signed a deal with Bullman's Wood Fired Pizza, a Helena restaurant, and expects it to open in the 18,000-square-foot building by the end of summer.

He said he is concluding a deal with another local operator to move into the same building, serving smoothies, fresh-squeezed juices and fresh sandwiches.

And First Interstate Bank will open in the next week or so, in its signature building which by exterior appearances is complete. Harris said employee training was under way this past week.

Sportsman and Ski Haus is the next big opening, with a June 29 targeted opening date and a July 14 grand opening.

This past week, employees were stocking shelves inside the distinctive, glass-walled 55,000-square-foot store, and landscaping was being finished outside the building. In a land swap, the retailer has been

leasing its downtown Kalispell location in exchange for its new land at Hutton Ranch Plaza. After the new Sportsman opens, the property at First Avenue and Idaho will convert to office space for three different interests.

The north Sportsman and Ski Haus, a mainstay in Whitefish, will remain full-force where it is.

Directly in front of the Sportsman at Hutton Ranch, Glacier Quilts will open the latter part of summer in its own 5,800-square-foot building. It replaces the quilt store's current location on U.S. 2 just northeast of Kalispell with a much larger and more efficient retail space.

For the theaters, Harris projects an Aug. 3 opening date.

"That's a couple weeks past what we wanted, but we were hit by winter," he said. The exterior and interior walls are fully grouted block walls that require a minimum temperature to set. "We were hoping we could expedite it, but it takes the time it takes to finish."

Signature Stadium 14 will feature 45,000 square feet and 2,200 seats for its 14 screens.

Downtown, the Liberty Theater will be converted for some live performances and probably will feature art films. Harris said he has no plans for the Strand, and the Gateway Cinemas will go to some other commercial use.

Harris said crews have the foundation finished and are about to go vertical on a 6,600-square-foot food pavilion that will contain four casual or fast-food eateries. He has signed Bajio Mexican Grill, Noodles to Go and Dolce Villa, a gelato and high-end, freshly-made ice cream store based in Billings which also will be making fresh chocolates on-site.

He is concluding negotiations with the fourth one, which he described as a compatible national-chain food store.

The shell of that building should be finished by mid-August, Harris said, with all entities open by mid-September or the first of October.

He said he's in negotiations with a couple "very large retail" interests which are targeted for the south end of the project nearest Flathead Valley Community College.

Hilton Homewood Suites is scheduled to start construction at the end of July or first of August, Harris said.

The 80,000-square-foot hotel will have 115 guest rooms on four floors, all in a suite configuration with bedroom, bathroom and a small kitchen. Harris said it will offer limited food service with breakfast.

Although full dining facilities are not planned, "It certainly fills a niche that is not now being met in the valley," he said.

It's the second Hilton hotel in Kalispell. Hilton Garden Inn is scheduled to open on U.S. 93 South on June 25.

At full build-out, Hutton Ranch Plaza will boast about 500,000 square feet of mixed commercial space arranged into a lifestyle center - a complex with all the components of shopping, dining and entertainment, but under separate roofs.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com