Western States Construction Inc., of Valleyford, Wash., has been awarded a $509,000 contract to expand and update a culinary arts demonstration kitchen at Spokane Community College that students use for training.

Western States' President Maynard Davis says the work will include expanding the kitchen by 1,200 square feet of floor space from the current 1,000 square feet and installing new equipment.

Davis says the work is starting now, and plans call for it to be completed by late August.

Western States will install new stoves, ovens, hoods above the stoves, and walk-in coolers, he says. The community college is supplying the equipment, he says.

Davis says Bernardo-Wills Architects PC, of Spokane, is the construction architect.

Mary Harnetiaux, a spokeswoman for the Community Colleges of Spokane, says the work will be done in SCC's Main Building, which is on the south end of the college campus along Mission Avenue. The culinary arts program facilities are on the building's first floor, and the expanded space will be an addition to the main building, she says.

"The culinary arts program has grown so dramatically," Harnetiaux says. "They've actually outgrown their existing demonstration kitchen. So, this is just kind of a response to program growth."