Peter Johnson

Great Falls Tribune-Unknown

Great Falls experienced a strong year of commercial development in 2016, with nearly $70 million in construction or major additions.

The building numbers were the best in nearly 10 years, said Craig Raymond, city planning and community development director, who attributed the growth to an improved national economy building local momentum.

“Success begets success,” said Raymond, who pointed to recent Great Falls gains in manufacturing, commercial and retail projects.

2016 ‘strongest’ Great Falls building year since 2008

“Super 1 Food executives knew the second Wal-Mart was being built at the east end of 10th Avenue South and went ahead and developed their big grocery nearby anyway,” Raymond said. “That demonstrated confidence not only in their own store, but in Great Falls’ continuing growth.”

Brett Doney, president of the Great Falls Development Authority, said the Electric City has experienced “a vote of confidence” through business investment by veteran Great Falls developers, out-of-state retailers and small, individual entrepreneurs.

“It’s nice to see investments in a range of manufacturing, commercial, retail and rental housing projects,” Doney said. “And they’re occurring across the city, not just in one area.”

In a series of Tribune interviews, a half dozen of those investors cited various reasons for building in Great Falls at this time.

• Brothers Paul and Jon Leach, Sun River Valley welders who started the burgeoning energy services company Loenbro, emphasized their Great Falls area roots and the city’s midway location among different company work sites.

• Contractor and developer Brad Talcott said he and his partners are converting a former industrial site into the mixed-use retail, office and residential West Bank Landing because it represents the best use of the scenic area for the community and is a good business investment. In addition, the timing is ripe because Great Falls residents are feeling more confident, he said.

• Town Pump executive Bill McGladdery said the Butte company is making major improvements to its properties on 10th Avenue South “to be part of growth and redevelopment along that busy thoroughfare.”

• Manito Super 1 Foods vice president Randy McIntyre said his Idaho-based company opted to expand an existing grocery site on 10th Avenue South because they saw an opportunity, got city support for their changes and appreciated positive economic changes in recent years in Great Falls.

The business managers expanded on their thoughts for moving to Great Falls or expanding their operations here.

Loenbro: Roots, opportunity and central location

Paul and Jon Leach started welding at what is now Montana Calumet Refining in 1998, and ongoing work for the refinery was their company’s first major role when Loenbro was incorporated in 2001, said chief business development officer Lee Haven. In fact, the company had as many as 200 employees working during the refinery’s major expansion the past few years.

“Many of our early leaders were raised in the Great Falls area,” said company president Paul Leach. “They know the value of hard work and are committed to doing the best job possible for our clients. Our growth and success is the direct result of all of our employees.”

Loenbro has diversified both what it does and where, which has kept it successful as the energy market changes, Haven said. Its specialties now include industrial construction, pipelines, industrial insulation, instrumentation and inspections.

Since oil prices fell, the company has done more maintenance projects than building new refineries and pipelines, he said, and it has expanded its operations to serve several nearby states and most recently Texas.

“Our location and facilities in the Great Falls region are well situated to allow us to serve our clients in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming and throughout the region,” said company vice president Jon Leach.

Loenbro applied through Cascade County for a $7.5 million Montana Board of Investments infrastructure loan to build a 30,000-square-foot fabrication shop and a 30,000-square-foot office building north of Great Falls that it moved into in 2016. It is seeking a similar $600,000 loan to build a mechanical storage building for its heavy equipment next year.

About 150 of its current 510 employees now work from Great Falls, including leaders and some crew members, Haven said.

Timing right for West Bank Landing

Talcott said he and his business partner and wife Linda Caricaburu launched their West Bank One project, which now includes a hotel, two restaurants and a brewery, during the heart of the recession, “optimistic that the economy would improve.”

When that turned out successful, they took on partners Joe Aline and Spencer Woith to improve adjoining land that had to be cleaned of waste first. This winter they’re building the SpringHill Suites Hotel expected to open next summer, converting a barrel-shaped warehouse into a fitness center for Peak Health and Wellness and designing a mixed-used building expected to house restaurants and retail shops on the ground floor with office space above.

Within a few years the partners want to develop another four or five buildings that will combine retail and office space with some upper-floor residential. When the project is done, it will involve some $60 million in private and public investments in buildings and infrastructure, Talcott said.

“It’s an ideal site to develop a mixed-use riverfront development that the public can enjoy as many other cities have done in areas that were formerly industrial,” said Talcott. His family’s construction yard was moved away from the river to the eastern edge of Great Falls many years ago.

“It’s a good business opportunity for us that will benefit the community, drawing residents and visitors to the West Side,” he said. “People will be able to live, work, play and visit the West Bank Landing.”

The timing is right, Talcott said, because the Great Falls economy, which has been growing stronger for several years, has strong industrial, commercial, medical and retail employers.

“Great Falls is moving ahead in a positive direction with dynamic leadership,” Talcott said. “And local voters demonstrated last year, with their strong endorsement of the school bonds, that they want the community to move forward and improve.”

Town Pump growing

The Butte-based company is making improvements to four of its properties on 10th Avenue South, including the western portion that’s technically called Country Club Boulevard.

It tore down the aging Townhouse Inn at 1411 10th Ave. S., and is building a huge convenience store, gas station and casino that fills the block, while retaining and actually enlarging an existing convenience store and station just across 10th Avenue South at 1400 10th Ave. S., next fall.

Company officials say they want to make it easy for drivers to fuel up or grab snacks on both sides of the busy thoroughfare.

Commercial real estate broker Mark Macek said the 1400 block of 10th Avenue South is some of the most valuable land in town because of the high traffic counts and retail exposure to traffic on that portion of 10th. In addition the avenue connects two highways at its east and west ends and the 14th and 15th street couplet connects north- and south-bound traffic, he said.

Town Pump also is now refurbishing its first Great Falls gas station, at 401 10th Ave. S., and plans to start construction next spring on a hotel along Country Club Boulevard near Fox Farm Road.

Company officials are recognizing improvements on 10th, including the Wal-Mart being constructed at its east end, McGladdery said.

Town Pump spokeswoman Maureen Kenneally was more general about her family business’s longtime interest in Great Falls, which started 36 years ago. With the new 10th Avenue South store, Town Pump will operate seven convenience store/gas stations, including two travel plazas on Gore Hill. It also runs eight casinos and three car washes in Great Falls and by early 2018 will have a new hotel.

“We know we can never sit still; we are constantly looking for better ways to serve our customers through growing our stores, casinos and hotels,” she said. “Our growth in Great Falls can be attributed to loyalty by our customers and dedication of our team members.”

Grocery chain liked city’s growth

McIntire said Manito Super 1 Foods, which operates stores in northern Idaho and western Montana, saw an opportunity in Great Falls for its 14th grocery when it heard that Van’s IGA let its lease lapse at 3160 10th Ave. S.

Super 1 officials liked several things about Great Falls, southeastern Great Falls and 10th Avenue South, McIntire said, and city officials were receptive to the company building a facility one-third bigger than the previous store.

“There seemed to be a lot more vitality to Great Falls the last few years, including new industrial plants on the north side that created a lot of jobs,” he said. “It looks to us like developers and the city were trying to revitalize 10th Avenue South, with some businesses succeeding. And central and southeastern Great Falls had large neighborhoods of potential shoppers.”

Super 1 Foods, which opened in Great Falls in August, wasn’t concerned about taking on the eastside Wal-Mart set to open early next spring, he said.

“Our perishable departments, such as produce, meats, deli and bakery are very good and our pricing is very competitive with Wal-Mart’s,” McIntire added.

Other investors cite reasons

FedEx Ground chose to expand to a larger new facility in Great Falls Agri-Tech Park because the more modern facility “will allow quicker, more efficient shipment of goods across the U.S-Canadian border,” said Senior Manager Lee Klette.

The Great Falls site also has easy access to major highways, proximity to customs distribution centers and a strong local community workforce, he said.

One owner of Fire Artisan Pizza, a new restaurant set to open soon at 107 5th St. N. downtown, has appreciated efforts to revitalize downtown Great Falls and said it could blossom with tourists like Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Co-owner Todd Stam, a Coeur d’Alene resident who developed 18 luxury condos in the Montana Building, thinks the ground-floor gourmet pizza restaurant “will give locals another option and attract tourists passing through to Glacier or Yellowstone park or visiting Lewis and Clark and Charlie Russell attractions,” according to co-manager Alexa Bell.

John Chapman, who has opened Tacticality Workwear at 1812 10th Ave. S. to sell work clothes, gear and supplies for emergency workers, thinks central Montana simply needed such a shop “and Great Falls is an epicenter for shoppers.”

The former University of Great Falls basketball player said he wanted to open his own business and saw the need for such a store.

With a private bank loan and financial support and business startup advice from the GFDA, he and his wife bought a large inventory of equipment, and are already receiving inquiries from emergency providers as far away as Canada.