CLS Mortgage Inc. says it has moved its office to the northeast corner of Argonne Road and Broadway Avenue from its longtime Spokane Valley location.

The lender has leased 4,500 square feet of space on the ground floor of the Merchant e-Solutions Plaza, at 920 N. Argonne, says Helen Pavlischak, a CLS loan officer. The company had leased 7,500 square feet of space at 12904 E. Nora since 1980.

"We didn't need that much space." Pavlischak says. "When the lease was up, the owner decided to make the move to a newer building."

Jeff Bell, who currently lives in Pennsylvania, bought CLS Mortgage in 2004 from Gene Brazington, who founded it here in 1974. The office has about 12 employees, and its staffing has remained level for a few years, Pavlischak says.

The company's revenue is stable, although it is below its peak of a few years ago, she says.

CLS's loans are funded by private investors, rather than sold on the secondary market to generate new lendable funds, Pavlischak says.

"We put the loans together in our office, we are the lender, and we service the loans," she says.

CLS is licensed to lend in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.

"We can draw outside of the Spokane market," Pavlischak says. "We do a lot of business in the Seattle area."

That's helping to keep a steady flow of business in an overall soft market, she says.