Vandervert Construction Inc., of Spokane, has started work on a $5.3 million expansion of the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. outlet near the Division Street Y, on Spokanes North Side. The project involves adding grocery space to the store and converting it into a Wal-Mart supercenter.


Patrick Linhart, a project manager at Vandervert, says site work started earlier this month at the store, and the job is scheduled to be completed in April 2006.


The project involves expanding the store by 73,000 square feet of floor space, which will give it 223,000 square feet of floor space. At that size, it will be the largest of the three Spokane-area Wal-Marts, Linhart says.


The store, which is located at 9212 N. Colton, just north of Holland Avenue and east of U.S. 2, will be enlarged with a 63,000-square-foot grocery addition at its south end and a 10,000-square-foot addition at its northeast corner that will house a stock room and tire storage.


As part of the project, the front of the building will be reconfigured so there are two main entrancesone for general merchandise and one for the supermarket, Linhart says. The stores customer-service center and hair salon will be moved so theyre near the general store entrance as part of that reconfiguration.


The store, which was built three years ago, will remain open during construction.


The other two Spokane-area Wal-Mart stores are located at 15727 E. Broadway, in Spokane Valley, and at 2301 W. Wellesley, on the North Side. Those stores already have grocery departments.