Fred Meyer Stores, of Portland, has hired Boise-based Engineered Structures Inc. (ESI) as the general contractor to do a $10 million remodel of its store north of Spokane near Wandermere Mall.

Caroline Pavlinik, business development director for ESI, says the remodel of the store at 12120 N. Division is scheduled to start late this month and to be completed in late August.

Melinda Merrill, the retail chain's Portland-based spokeswoman, says the 162,000-square-foot store will remain open during the remodel. She says the store was opened in 1998, and Fred Meyer usually remodels its stores every 10 years as part of its business plan, so the Wandermere store is due for repairs and modernization.

Fred Meyer stores sell food, clothing, housewares, home and garden merchandise, and hardware items. The Wandermere store employs 194 people. The chain operates about 130 stores in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Idaho. Fred Meyer Stores is a division of Cincinnati-based Kroger Co.

Merrill says the store's grocery area, including the frozen food section and produce department, will be expanded during the remodeling. New fixtures, food cases, shelving, and apparel racks will be put in, she says. The store will be painted and will have a new dcor as part of the remodel, and new skylights and energy-efficient lighting, which will fluctuate in intensity depending on how much natural light is coming into the store from the skylights, will be installed.

Also, a drive-through pharmacy window will be added to the front of the store.

Merrill says the flooring will be stripped, and the concrete underneath will be polished and painted to serve as the store's floor.

Fred Meyer also operates stores at 525 E. Francis and 400 S. Thor, in Spokane; at 15609 E. Sprague, in Spokane Valley; and at 560 W. Kathleen, in Coeur d'Alene.