Auction delayed for former Gateway Mall

The auction of a portion of the former Gateway West Mall in Kalispell has been rescheduled for June 15 at the request of the nonprofit Gateway Community Center.

The nonprofit group asked American Capital Management for more time to make an offer on the mall facility, United Way Director Sherry Stevens said Tuesday.

United Way is the fiscal agent and project facilitator for Gateway Community Center and the umbrella under which the other nonprofit groups operate at the mall building.

The online auction had been planned for May 19.

Stevens said Gateway Community Center’s Realtor intends to work with American Capital on details of a purchase proposal.

American Capital, of Santa Barbara, California, privately owns 100,643 square feet of the mall building and recently placed the facility for sale at Auction.com for a starting bid of $600,000.

That remains the starting bid, with a bid deposit of $10,000 required.

Gateway Community Center leases more than 52,000 square feet from American Capital to accommodate agencies serving Northwest Montana.

The auction does not affect the TeleTech call center that operates in a 60,000-square-foot section of the former mall — a section that is owned by the Flathead County Economic Development Corp.

The transformation of the mall into a community center materialized in 2009 with a 10-year lease with American Capital that expires in 2019.

“No matter what happens, we still have four years on our existing lease,” Stevens said, “so agencies don’t need to be fearful they’ll have to leave.”

The current lease was renewable for another 10 years beyond 2019, though that could change if someone other than Gateway Community Center buys the mall space, Stevens said.

Over the past six years volunteers have donated a significant amount of time and money to create the community center.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.