A building that will house a new operations center for Coeur d'Alene-based Mountain West Bank is under construction in north Coeur d'Alene, says Russ Porter, the bank's president and chief operating officer.

The project cost is estimated at $1.8 million for the building's shell. Williamson-Johnson Co., of Coeur d'Alene, is the contractor on the project, which is located at 2123 N. Government Way. Eixenberger Architect, of Coeur d'Alene, designed it.

Parkwood Business Properties, of Coeur d'Alene, is developing the building and has formed Glacier Government Way LLC, which will own it. Mountain West Bank will lease all of the space in the 31,800-square-foot building. The structure will have two above-ground levels and a basement, he says.

Porter says the bank hasn't named a contractor for the interior work, and a cost estimate isn't available.

Porter says the bank will move its Hayden operations, which include data processing and collections, to the new center.

"We would like to bring our banking family closer together and improve efficiency in operations," he says.

The new operations center also will include the bank's call-center, mailroom processing, and corporate marketing departments, some of which are housed in its offices in Ironwood.

"It's an opportunity for us to get something built to suit close to our Ironwood branch and near our administrative, commercial lending, Small Business Administration lending, and real estate centers," he says of the project. The construction site is just northwest of those operations, which are at the northwest corner of Ironwood Drive and Government Way.

"We wanted to create more of a campus as we grow and need more space for different uses," Porter says.

About 100 Mountain West Bank employees will work in the operations center, Porter says, adding, "The building also will give us room for future growth."

Mountain West Bank has 25 branches in Washington, Idaho, and Utah.