He said that would depend entirely, though, on demand for space there by prospective tenants, which has remained low due to the sluggish economy. Kent Caputo, chief operating officer for the Kalispel Tribal Economic Authority, had said last November that the tribe might begin work as early as this past spring on infrastructure improvements for the envisioned mixed-used center. Shafer referred questions about the cost and other details of the project to tribal representatives, who couldn't be reached for comment. The Chevron-branded facility is being developed on a roughly 4.5-acre site, he says. Shafer says the 5,000-square-foot, upscale convenience store will be a glass-and-steel structure, and the gas station portion of the project will have five islands with a total of 10 fueling dispensers.
Wolfe Architectural Group PS, of Spokane, designed the project. Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, began work on the project in mid-March and expects to complete it in mid-August, says Kevin Shafer, who is managing the project for Garco. The Kalispel Tribe of Indians is developing a convenience store and gas station on part of a large parcel of land it owns just south of its recently expanded Northern Quest Resort & Casino, in Airway Heights, where it has said it envisions a mixed-use development.
