A new building for Coeur d’Alene Vision Source is going up at 3879 N. Schreiber Way, in Coeur d’Alene.

Construction has begun on the 4,700-square-foot, single-story building, valued at $600,000.

Dr. Ray Greene, who owns the Coeur d’Alene Vision Source franchise, says the optometric business needed more room, so he decided to construct a new building.

Coeur d’Alene-based Ginno Construction Co. is the contractor on the project, and H2A Architects PA, also of Coeur d’Alene, designed it.

The building will have more than double the clinic’s space at its current location, at 850 W. Ironwood Drive, Greene says. While Greene doesn’t yet know whether he will hire additional employees, he says the additional space will help staff to see patients more efficiently.

The project is valued at $600,000. Greene says he’s going for a Starbucks-meets-Apple Store atmosphere, with communal desks for staff and cafe tables for patients.

“The waiting area is going to be in the center, and everything else is going to be around the patient,” Greene says. “I want to have a big, open area that encourages patients to look around and browse.”

With a winery and a brewery — Coeur d’Alene Cellars and Trickster Brewing — across the street, Greene says he’s hoping to provide a more upscale experience for patients.

“I’m expecting possibly in the afternoons to have some wine and beer that we’ll be offering patients,” he says. 

Greene also hopes to add a lab for grinding glasses lenses in-house eventually.

Greene says construction is expected to be completed in November, with Vision Source moving into the new space immediately thereafter.

Vision Source is a Houston-based optometric service network franchisor.