Cherry Creek Mortgage Co. has leased 4,000 square feet of office space on the ground floor of the Riverview Corporate Center, at 162201 E. Indiana, in Spokane Valley, and plans to move its Spokane-area branch office there this spring, says Marco Begovich, the Denver-based company's regional manager, who owns the branch here.

That branch currently occupies smaller leased space at 12209 E. Mission.

Begovich says he expects that Cherry Creek eventually will grow into the space, which will accommodate up to 22 employees. The branch on Mission Avenue, which has been open about a year, employs 11 people, currently. The company originates loans and pools them for sale on the secondary market, where they're purchased by buyers such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other large mortgage-banking institutions.

"Our business is growing each month that we're here," Begovich says.

As regional manager, he also manages five other branches in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California.

Cherry Creek Mortgage, which is privately owned and operated, was founded in Colorado in 1986. The company has 59 branches in 13 states and 450 employees, Cherry Creek's Web site says.

The Riverview Corporate Center, which was developed by prominent Spokane-area developer Walt Worthy, opened about a year ago, and about a quarter of the five-story, 250,000-square-foot building is leased. Jack Marr, director of leasing for Worthy Enterprises LLC, of Spokane Valley, handled the Cherry Creek lease.