InCyte Pathology Inc., a longtime pathology practice and laboratory here, plans to develop and move into a new building at Mirabeau Point in Spokane Valley, says Terri Montano, its chief operating officer.


Montano says the company plans to construct a 26,000-square-foot, single-story building on a roughly 2.5-acre piece of land it has bought at 13103 E. Mansfield. The property is next to where the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife is building a new 14,600-square foot regional headquarters, and is a short distance west of the Childrens Home Society of Washingtons new 8,300-square-foot Family Resource Center, she says.


InCyte hopes to be in its new building by next fall, but that will depend on when it can secure a building permit, since the city of Spokane Valley currently is holding up issuing a permit there due to traffic concerns, Montano says.


We have a foundation-and-footings permit, so were in the process of pouring the footings and walls, and well need a building permit to proceed from there, with the rest of the project expected to take eight to nine months to complete, she says.


Northwest Architectural Co., of Spokane, designed the project, and Walker Construction Inc., also of Spokane, is the general contractor. Montano declines to say how much InCyte expects to spend on the project.


The company probably will use about one-third of the space in the new building for laboratory activities and the rest for administrative functions, she says. InCyte leases a similar amount of space at its current location, at 11604 E. Indiana, but Montano says, Wed like to operate more efficiently, and well be in a space thats designed for us and our work flow.


Along with the additional benefit of owning its quarters, rather they leasing them, she says, Wed like to be in an area that will be nice for employees. Well be able to attract and keep great employees because were in a great location.


InCyte, which is owned by 21 pathologists and has about 75 other employees, is at its highest employment level ever and is projecting modest growth over the near term, Montano says.


The company conducts tests related to cytology, which is the study of cells, and histology, which is the microscopic study of tissues, for patients throughout the Inland Northwest. The pathologists who own the company also have offices at Sacred Heart Medical Center, Holy Family Hospital, Valley Hospital & Medical Center, and Kootenai Medical Center.


Last spring, the company also began providing services at Kadlec Medical Center, in Richland, Wash., Montano says.


Founded in 1957, InCyte changed its name from Pathology Associates Inc. about two years ago to differentiate itself from the larger Spokane-based Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories Inc. (PAML), which it spun off 22 years ago.