Building boom ahead in 2014

The new year has yet to arrive, but something’s guaranteed for Kalispell in 2014 — lots of construction activity.

Most of the permitted work is on the north end of town, which is already established as the Flathead Valley’s retail and medical services hub.

Most of the development will occur in the Spring Prairie Shopping Center where the Cabela’s Outpost store recently opened. There are nine building pads that will be bustling with construction activity throughout next year, according to Tom Jentz, Kalispell’s planning director.

“By November of next year, the entire Cabela’s site will be built out and occupied,” Jentz said.

New businesses coming to the shopping center include Ulta, a store that will sell cosmetics and beauty supplies; a MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill and Pub, which will be different than the MacKenzie River Pizza restaurant on the south side of town; a Michael’s craft store; a PetSmart store; and a plaza building called The Shops that will house four small retail businesses.

Another big development that could get underway but probably won’t be complete by the end of next year is a Chick-Fil-A restaurant in the Cabela’s area.

Jentz said Chick-Fil-A builds about 80 restaurants a year and Kalispell would be its first Montana location.

The development is being spearheaded by The Kroenke Group, a Missouri-based firm owned by billionaire Stan Kroenke that is now the leaseholder for some of the Section 36 state trust lands in north Kalispell.

Jentz said The Kroenke Group has a track record for long-term management of properties.

“They are here for the long haul, so that’s going to be good for the community,” Jentz said.

Also on the north end of town, Kalispell Regional Medical Center is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar expansion project at The Rock medical office building. Jentz said the project will double the building’s size.

The Sportsman & Ski Haus has launched an expansion project that will add about 28,000 square feet to its current 53,000-square-foot store.

Construction also is continuing for the new Glacier Eye Clinic near Glacier High School.

On the south side of town, a Fred’s appliance store is expected to open this spring.

Elsewhere in Kalispell, there should be a continuation of the improved home construction activity that the city experienced this year. There were 120 houses built in 2013, the most since 2008.

“We expect a similar pace next year,” Jentz said. “There are a lot of existing lots on the market that are beginning to disappear.”

All told, the job-generating building construction is expected to add up to tens of millions of dollars.

But that’s not all.

Over the next three years, Jentz said, there will be around $35 million in road construction activity on the north end of the Kalispell bypass.

In 2014, a bridge structure will be built on Three Mile Drive that the bypass will cross under.

In 2015, a four-lane section of bypass is expected to be built on a two-mile stretch from Glacier High School to Three Mile Drive. Jentz said the Montana Department of Transportation is seeking funding that would allow for construction of a bypass bridge over Reserve Loop in 2015.

And in 2016, the bypass would be completed with construction from Three Mile Drive to U.S. 2., connecting to the southern half of the bypass.

“It’s huge for the construction community and for the traveling public,” Jentz said.

He added there will be a bike path along the northern part of the bypass, which will have four traffic lanes along the entire 3 1/2-mile stretch with bridges and no roundabouts.

“You’re going to see that road being used the same way as an expressway,” Jentz said, likening it to the way Bozeman or Billings residents make use of Interstate 90.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.