Music school has big plans for new building

North Valley Music School is buying the city of Whitefish’s Depot Park office building for $20, with plans of increasing space and programming for the music program that has been in Whitefish for 20 years.

The next step — a big leap, really — is to move the building from its park setting by the end of May and ultimately find a permanent home for the structure.

The Whitefish City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave the music school the go-ahead to purchase the building. After the council decided last October to either demolish or remove the building, the city declared it surplus property and advertised for bids. North Valley Music School was the only taker.

The city has used the building for several years for its Planning and Building and Parks and Recreation departments. Those departments will relocate to the new City Hall that’s under construction, and removing the office building will allow the city to follow through with goals in its Depot Park master plan.

City Manager Chuck Stearns estimated the city will save about $20,000 by not having to demolish the Depot Park building. The city will pay for an asbestos investigation and would foot the cost of any remediation if asbestos is found.

North Valley Music School Executive Director Deidre Corson said acquisition of a larger facility is a golden opportunity for the school.

“We’re really excited for the opportunity to work with the city,” Corson said. “We have a lot of work to do now that we have acquired the building.”

She envisions a partnership with the city similar to many other community public-private projects the city has had a hand in developing, from the Wave fitness center to the ice rink, skate park, youth sports complex and other facilities.

The school would like to explore the feasibility of moving the building to the city’s snow storage lot north of Whitefish Middle School.

“That location is ideal,” Corson said. “It’s in a safe neighborhood, and close to the school. We want to work with the city on this move.”

It may be possible to store the building on the snow lot, at least temporarily, Stearns said.

“We haven’t had any request from them for temporary storage, so it will have to wait for their plans and planning,” Stearns said. “I told them verbally that I did not think it would be a problem to store it temporarily on the snow storage lot, but that was just my guess. We would probably want to clarify what temporarily is.”

Wherever the building ends up, it offers North Valley Music School the chance to have more studio space and a larger performance area. Corson estimated the current school, in a retrofitted house on Spokane Avenue, has about 2,700 square feet that includes two floors and a converted garage.

The Depot Park building, built as a credit union in the mid-1970s — has 4,048 square feet split between two building sections. It offers space for nine, much larger studios than the seven studios provided in the school’s existing facility, Corson said. The front room of the building could be converted into a performance hall at least double the size of the school’s current great room.

Enrollment has increased from 185 students at this time last year to 220 this year, with a waiting list of more than 25 students.

“At some point we’re growing out of this space anyway,” she said about the current school at 432 Spokane Ave. “We’ve been trying to increase our programs.”

She said many classes are consistently full. There’s a constant desire to add programs. The school currently is working with a couple of other organizations on a music technology program.

“We’re really exploring other opportunities for more programs,” Corson said. “We’d love to hear back from the community on what they’d like to see.”

Another adult choir, more Suzuki method piano programming and more beginner classes for violin instruction are currently among the ideas being floated.

Right now, though, the logistics of getting the building moved and “up to snuff” will be the big focus, she said. If the school can sell its existing facility it would largely take care of the financial needs.

“Hopefully we wont have to do major fundraising,” Corson said. “Those numbers still need to be worked out.”

For more information about the North Valley Music School, visit http://northvalleymusicschool.org or call 406-862-8074.

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