The owners of Thompson Custom Orthotics & Prosthetics Inc., of Spokane, plan to develop a $2 million office and production facility that will more than double the floor space the 30-year-old company occupies at its current main location.

Jim Cahill, who, along with business partner Henry Bennett owns Thompson Custom Orthotics, says the new 12,400-square-foot structure will be located on a half-acre site at 401 S. Sherman and will provide needed additional fabrication space and fitting rooms for patients. Cahill says he expects construction of the building to begin in June, and adds, "We hope to be in by Christmas."

Preliminary work at the development site started earlier this month and includes demolition of a 78-year-old, 13,000-square-foot brick building and removal of about 2,000 cubic yards of rock, he says.

The building had been used for storage for several years, says John Konen, of Storhaug Engineering Inc., of Spokane. Storhaug did the civil engineering work for the project.

The new structure will be erected just a block north and across Interstate 90 from Thompson Custom Orthotics' current location, at 502 E. Fifth, where it occupies 5,000 square feet of leased space.

A portion of the new structure will have two levels, and the rest of it will have one level with roof-top parking, Cahill says. The project also will have some ground-level parking to bring the total number of parking spaces to 25, he says.

Cahill says he and Bennett plan to select a contractor late this month. Smart Spaces by Design LLC and CSHQA Inc., both of Boise, designed the project.

The planned Sherman Street building will be the company's main office and production lab, he says.

Thompson Custom Orthotics makes braces, supports, and artificial limbs for people who need such devices due to injuries or physical abnormalities, Cahill says. Orthotic devices range from arch supports for aligning the foot structure to body jackets for spine support. Prosthetic devices are designed to replace missing body parts, such as arms and legs.

The company fabricates and custom fits most of its products, although it sells some off-the-shelf retail items such as cast boots, he says.

Nearly all of Thompson Custom Orthotics' patients are referred to the company by physicians, he says.

The company has 20 employees, up from six employees in 2000, when Cahill and Bennett bought Thompson Custom Orthotics, he says, adding that he expects the company's work force will continue to grow after the move.

"We're foreseeing that we'll be busier," he says. "We'll have eight patient rooms—double the number of patient rooms we have now."

The company has an office at Deaconess Medical Center and plans to open one at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children's Hospital, he says. It also has a small office in Clarkston, Wash.