WF Lodge expansion, sky bridge under way

The $5 million addition to The Lodge at Whitefish Lake will be complete by June 2009, said Sean Averill, who with Dan and Brian Averill owns the luxury hotel.

"We had a need and a demand for more rooms," Sean Averill said. "We get to target a different segment. We can get [the rooms] rented at a lower price point and attract group business."

The 32-room addition is being built in a wooded area on the east side of Wisconsin Avenue. A sky bridge over Wisconsin will connect the new addition with the existing lakefront lodge.

"Guests will be able to safely traverse Wisconsin and feel connected to the lodge," Averill said.

The process of approval for the project has spanned two years. The Averills have set aside 30 acres of the 40-acre parcel upon which the expansion sits for a conservation preserve for a wetlands area that is also a crucial drainage corridor to Whitefish Lake. GT Builders of Kalispell is the general contractor.