Car dealership plan on hold

DePratu’s plans to build a Volkswagen dealership in south Kalispell have been put on hold.

The 11,000-square-foot building was slated to go up on four acres of land at the southeast corner of U.S. 93 and Lower Valley Road.

“We’re just kind of reviewing figures and trying to make stuff work,” said Jeff Brown, owner and general manager of DePratu Ford and Volkswagen in Whitefish. “Due to the time of year, we thought it best to just let winter pass and see what we can do next spring.”

The expansion was anticipated to mean 20 to 30 new jobs and a major construction project for south Kalispell.

The site is part of a larger property owned by Gardner Investments that was annexed with a planned unit development zoning overlay. 

Approval of that planned unit development overlay — required before the dealership could be built — was tied up for several months in Kalispell’s planning process and a utility line dispute. 

Montana Venture Partners, developers of Old School Station, questioned if the city was properly handling its review and approval of the Gardner Investments planned unit development and properly administering a latecomer’s agreement for oversized water and sewer lines that Montana Venture Partners had paid to install.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.