Firm spiffs up old downtown building

A piece of Kalispell's downtown history has been burnished and put back into business at the corner of Fourth Street and First Avenue West.

The former Salvation Army thrift store - and DeSoto car dealership, gas company and city of Kalispell permitting department, in their turns - took on new life as Insured Titles on the first of June.

The title company closed its doors in Plaza West a few blocks to the north and reopened in an artful renovation that both captures the art deco ambiance outside and updates the building to an open, light-drenched, modern suite inside.

Insured Titles Manager Chris Ohler appreciates the progression of the building through all its stages.

"I'm so proud of taking that ugly duckling downtown and giving it" a new life, Ohler said.

She and her staff of 19 hosted the Kalispell Chamber's after-hours business get-together, UNWIND, on June 18, opening their glass-and-stainless steel doors to what Ohler estimated to be 200 or 250 visitors.

What visitors saw was a clean, simply designed facade, the Insured Titles logo with its signature mountain silhouette over the entrance. The light brickwork walls, sloped windows and stainless steel posts along those windows preserve the original Art Deco exterior.

But roofline-high windows bring daylight into an interior that was completely rebuilt from the studs.

In the lobby, leather chairs flank the stone double-fronted fireplace facing into both the lobby and a conference room. A soft seating area is anchored by a broad wood coffee table in the alcove. Flashes of green, rust and slate blue wash the copper look of the chem-metal front on the reception desk.

High ceilings throughout the 8,300-square-foot office make the most of what Ohler estimates to be a building in its sixth decade. Open work spaces flow together around half-walls, with the floor plan ringed by private offices.

Tucked into an upper-level mezzanine off the back corner are 70,000 meticulously labeled file folders holding the histories of past title transactions. At the back of the main floor are drawers of film files, more records of yet more documents.

All this is the new home of one of Kalispell's five title companies, most with branches in the Flathead's outlying cities. Insured Titles itself is owned by a holding company that also operates Insured Titles offices in Missoula and Bozeman.

The holding company bought the Kalispell business three years ago but retained its former name of Flathead County Title until April 2007.

Ohler joined Insured Titles in January that year. She had grown up in Kalispell and still had family here, but had moved to Anchorage where she was a partner in a title company for 10 years. She returned to the Flathead and took over management of Insured Titles.

Before long, owners went on the hunt for a new location. Ohler spotted what she thought would be an ideal spot, the former Salvation Army site at 44 Fourth St. W. - but discovered it was not for sale. It still served as the temporary headquarters for the city of Kalispell's permitting office.

But when it later came on the market, her company put in the best of three bids and closed on the purchase.

What Insured Titles got was a building with a bit of local history.

Attorney Dan Johns recalls a DeSoto dealership in the building in the 1950s.

Mark Gronley was a firsthand part of another venture there. He started with Montana Power as a meter reader when natural gas first was brought into the Flathead Valley in 1962, and he rose to become district manager for the company now known as NorthWestern Energy.

He said the gas company occupied the same footprint as today's building but used half of it for a shop and the other half for office space. What had been the car dealership's grease pit became the gas company's welding area in the back reaches of the building.

For many years after the gas company moved out to its new quarters on Meridian Road in 1982, the Salvation Army took up residence there for its thrift store and some client services.

When its Mega Thrift Store opened in the former Rosauers supermarket on U.S. 93 South, the Salvation Army vacated its old center.

Finally, when the city of Kalispell outgrew its offices on First Avenue East, its permitting services moved in temporarily. That staff filled the space at the corner of First and Fourth until the new city offices opened in the former Wells Fargo Bank building downtown.

The minute the city moved out of those quarters on Dec. 1, Insured Titles was ready to start renovations.

Sean Fitzpatrick of CTA Architects Engineers in Kalispell, project manager and architect, spearheaded the project, working with his CTA team of David Koel, who designed the exterior, and Jeff Morrison, who orchestrated the interior design and color scheme.

The brickwork, the sloped glass and stainless steel columns were pivotal features they retained to capture the building's original ambiance, Fitzpatrick said. But it blended easily with the modern interior, he said, with high trusses setting the stage for the lofty ceiling and the rest of the building being "clean and pretty easy."

Davidson Construction Inc. gutted the building and transformed it into that new vision under project manager Gary Davidson's direction.

Together, they created a satisfied customer.

"I just love the location," Ohler said. "It has good access - it's easy to get in and easy to get out. I think you can see it very well from Main Street. And so much of the business we do deals with the courthouse," which is just a couple of blocks to the south.

An easy flow of communications with CTA, which has done renovations for other title companies, made the project a smooth one for Ohler.

It gives employees more room, brings them up to a main floor with ample windows and, Ohler said, "just being in the new environment is a mood lifter."

Clients gain in the deal, too.

"We've just got a much nicer environment to bring clients to. It's professional," she said.

"I have such a great staff that even in a less-than-desirable environment, they did a great job. Now we have the space that represents the quality of the service we provide."

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