Water work affects Main Street traffic
<p><strong>The left-turn lane</strong> from Main Street to Center Street in downtown Kalispell is closed by construction this week. The work is expected to last until Friday morning. (Brenda Ahearn photos/Daily Inter Lake)</p><div> </div>
<p><strong>On Monday morning</strong>, subsurface work was well underway on a water-line project on Kalispell’s Main Street. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
Road construction on the east side of Kalispell’s Main Street this week is part of a pilot project relying on tax-increment financing.
A water line and fire suppression line are being added to upgrade services to the Kelly-Main Street building on the corner of East Center Street and Main Street.
Paul Roybal purchased the building last year and utilized a tax-increment grant through the Kalispell Urban Renewal Agency to restore the 90-year-old building.
The agency and the city of Kalispell aim to improve the downtown district and restore the area to its original state, building by building, through such grants.
According to Kalispell Community Development Manager Katharine Thompson, 11 Main St. — the Kelly-Main Street building — was only able to get a fire suppression line through its neighbor, 7 Main St. This project will supply 11 Main St. with its own fire suppression line running directly from the water line along the east side of the street.
“So far, the project is going really well,” Roybal said Monday afternoon. “They’ve blown out the water pipe to test it, and it worked well.”
Roybal is paying nearly $39,000 to install the fire suppression line and will then be reimbursed for around half of the cost through the grant. According to Roybal, he will have to pay the $19,000 fee for the new water line on his own.
Roybal owns Roybal’s Abbey Carpet in the Kelly-Main Street building. The building opened in 1924 and was designed by Kalispell architect Fred Brinkman. For nearly a decade in the early 2000s, it stood empty at one of downtown’s busiest corners.
“We worked with the Montana Transportation Department to figure out when the best time to complete the project would be,” said Thompson. “We timed the project so most of the tourist traffic would be done. There’s a push to get this project done quickly because it’s such a high-traffic area.”
LHC Inc. is doing the construction, which is scheduled to last until Friday, Oct. 24.
The construction is taking place in the easternmost lane on Main Street between East Center Street and First Street East. Turning lanes at Center Street are closed this week during the construction project.
The fire-flow line and fire suppression system will allow development of the basement and on the second floor, tripling the amount of usable space inside the 21,000-square-foot building. The lines also will run to businesses on either side of the flooring store.
Because the space will increase by such a large amount, Roybal is beginning to look for perspective businesses that want to lease space in the Kelly-Main Street building.
Last year, the City Council granted Roybal’s application for up to $72,661 in tax-increment money, which will be spread out through several projects that aim to restore the building.
“We’re still looking at the facade, and possibly removing the awning out front,” Roybal said, already looking ahead to the next piece of the project. “We’ll need new windows in the grand rooms upstairs.”
Reporter Brianna Loper may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at bloper@dailyinterlake.com.