The Kalispel Indian Tribe says it plans to develop a $20 million wellness and community center on its reservation in Usk, Wash., and expects to open bids for the project on Feb. 2.


The project will involve building a two-level, 86,600-square-foot building on an 11.5 acre site on the 2,500-acre reservation, says Mark DAgostino, owner of Meridian Construction Inc., of Spokane, which is the construction manager for the project. Meridian worked for the tribe on the expansion of its Northern Quest Casino in Airway Heights a few years ago.


Site work currently is under way, and construction is expected to start by late February and to be completed by the late summer of 2007, DAgostino says.


A health-care clinic will take up 20,000 square feet of space at the center, and will have four dental suites and space for physician exam rooms, he says. A nearly 30,000-square-foot natatorium will include a lap pool and two childrens play pools. The building also will house a 17,000-square-foot gymnasium and 7,000 square feet of space for meeting rooms. On the second floor of the building will be a room for cardiovascular exercise and offices that take up a total of 13,000 square feet of space, DAgostino says.


The Worth Group, which is based in Reno, Nev., and was the principal designer of the Northern Quest Casino expansion, was the architect for the wellness and community center, DAgostino says. Coffman Engineers Inc., of Spokane, is the structural, mechanical, and electrical engineer for the project, and Spokane-based Taylor Engineering Inc. is the civil engineer, he says. Pool World Inc., of Spokane, designed the natatorium, he says. Half Moon Construction and Leasing Inc., of Colbert, did the site work for the project.


Darren Holmes, project manager for the tribe, says the new center is expected to create up to 40 new jobs. He says the 380-member tribe is financing the project.


The Kalispel Tribe wanted to develop a center that would promote a healthy lifestyle for members of the tribe and the surrounding community, Holmes says. It also wanted to consolidate at one location its day-care, social services, and possibly a portion of its Camas Institute educational center, because those services currently are spread out at various locations on and off the reservation, he says.