Deer Park dentists Steven Bates and Greg Miller say they plan to construct a new office building in a $2.2 million project, at 309 W. Crawford, in Deer Park, for their growing family dentistry practice.

Bates says the building will be a one-story wood-frame structure with total space of 7,700 square feet and an attached 1,250-square-foot garage. He says it will have 10 patient exam stations with room to add two more, plus a reception area, offices, and a partial basement that will house mechanical and electrical rooms.

Two single-family houses located on the property, at the southwest corner of Crawford and Fir avenues, were demolished for the project, and a parking lot with about 40 parking stalls is to be constructed along with the new building on the roughly 1.7-acre parcel, Bates says. Altogether, the partners have purchased about 12 acres of land there, and might add more medical buildings on the property later, he says.

The city of Deer Park says it has approved a permit for the project, and Bates says construction will begin soon. He says the dental practice hopes to move into the new building in the fall, and expects to hire a couple of additional staff members at that time. Currently, the practice has 12 employees, in addition to the two dentists, and more than 5,000 patients.

The project architect is Bernardo Wills Architects PC, of Spokane, and Silvey Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley, is the general contractor.

The Bates-Miller Family Dentistry office currently is located in a leased space at 20 E. J, in Deer Park.