Insurance agency getting expanded space

Commercial construction ventures continue in Kalispell, including a new office building for Western States Insurance Agency under construction in the Village Plaza Business Park near the intersection of West Evergreen Drive and Whitefish Stage Road.

The 6,912-square foot building on Village Loop is being constructed by Kalispell contractor Gary Wardell, owner of G.W. Wardell Contractor Inc. He does business as The Construction Advantage.

The building is owned by Kalispell attorney Vincent Rieger.

Wardell has five employees on the job, along with a host of subcontractors. The construction is about 40 percent complete, he said. Ground was broken on the project in May. He expects the building to be completed in October and occupied in November.

Rieger said the project is ahead of schedule and under budget.

“Everything has gone well,” Rieger said. “We lucked out and got the right guy” for a general contractor.

In the next few weeks windows will be installed, as will an exterior masonry wainscoting, Wardell said. Landscaping should occur in September. The property will include two rain gardens to collect storm-water runoff as part of the landscape design, Wardell said.

Kalispell Public Works Director Jim Hansz said the rain gardens are an option for new construction sites to meet a federal requirement to manage storm water to prevent it from running into creeks and other bodies of water.

When undeveloped land is developed, less water typically is absorbed on the land, Hansz said, because buildings and parking lots don’t soak up rain water.

In this case, the water will be diverted into rain gardens that are home to plants that can consume the collected water and help reduce the nutrient levels in the ground.

Builders have other options for containing water, Hansz said, such as creating holding ponds.

A parking lot is planned on the south side of the building, with 23 parking spots. The building also includes a five-stall bicycle rack, Wardell said.

The building features high-energy efficiency windows and formaldehyde-free insulation among its state-of-the art products, Wardell said.

Holly Walsh, branch manager of Western States’ Kalispell office, said the agency’s employees are excited to move to their new, larger space. The company has grown in business volume and outgrown its current 5,500-square foot leased building at 240 W. Idaho St. That building will be available for lease, she said.

No changes in staff or the agency’s phone number will occur when the move takes place, Walsh said. She’s hopeful the move will be completed no later than the first week of December. An open house and other celebratory events will occur after the move, Walsh said.

Walsh has heard plenty of comments about the new building. “Because the economy is down, people are very interested in any new building,” she said.

Rieger said the current economic state is a driving force behind the construction project. The prices of building materials and labor are down, he said, which means he can afford to have the building constructed.

Rieger said he didn’t have hard data to prove his theory, but he estimated the building will cost 35 to 40 percent less than the same project would have cost to build in 2006. “Economically we wouldn’t have done the deal in 2006,” he said.

The lower construction costs also mean Western States gets “a brand-new building with a lot more square footage than they have today, for not much more in rental costs.” And it’s an “excellent long-term investment” for the owners, Rieger said.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at (406) 758-4439 or by e-mail at sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.