Growth conflicts aren't over
It’s the end of an era.
The collapse of Bucky Wolford’s grand plan to build a megamall and residential and commercial complex north of Kalispell was probably inevitable after the decade-old project met the Recession of 2008-2012, but it is still disappointing to think of what might have been.
Organized opposition to the project had delayed it year after year, even moved it from U.S. 2 to U.S. 93, and changed it from the Glacier Mall to the Glacier Town Center. Whether that opposition — and its impact on how development happened north of Kalispell — was a positive or a negative is probably worthy of an extensive post-mortem.
We will leave that for another day.
It may take many years before anyone again takes a chance on building the kind of retail and commercial complex that Wolford envisioned. In the meantime, property owner Roger Claridge is restoring the land back to farming use, biding his time.
Hopefully, some lessons have been learned about planning, development and commerce as a result of this struggle, but realistically it is likely that the conflict between the forces of growth and those who want to protect our lifestyle will never be entirely settled.
DEVELOPMENT DID happen north of Kalispell in the past decade, and one of the beneficiaries of the demise of Wolford’s plans was the Mountain View Plaza.
We’re glad to see the former Borders bookstore in north Kalispell get a new lease on life with the forthcoming Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage store planned for that space.
The Lakewood, Colo.-based grocery chain expects to open the store next spring. The addition of a grocery store that focuses on organic and natural foods, dietary supplements and home and body-care products is a perfect fit with our growing local market for organic foods and healthy choices.
Natural Grocers will add a new layer of diversity to the shopping line-up at Mountain View Plaza, and also will restore the shopping center to 100 percent occupancy, yet another sign of a local economy that’s getting more robust by the day.
WE’RE ENCOURAGED to see Kalispell City Manager Doug Russell’s new initiative on public information.
Russell has begun issuing reports every two weeks on the myriad doings of city government.
What Russell calls “snapshots” are designed to inform Kalispell residents about what the city and its various municipal departments are doing.
We welcome the reports and the commitment to transparency by our city manager. The more informed the public is about what its government is doing, the better the public can be served by that government.