Avista Corp., the Spokane-based energy company, is constructing a fleet maintenance building and adjacent compressed natural gas fueling station in Spokane Valley that's expected to cost about $2.4 million.

The 15,100-square-foot, five-bay fleet maintenance building and adjacent CNG fueling center are under construction at 2406 N. Dollar Road, a few blocks south of Felts Field Airport, says Jessie Wuerst, an Avista spokeswoman. They're expected to be completed next spring.

Baker Construction & Development Inc., of Spokane, is the contractor for that structure. Wolfe Architectural Group PS and ZBA Architecture PS, both of Spokane, designed it, she says.

Mansfield Gas Equipment Systems, of Ontario, Calif., is installing the CNG equipment with local subcontractors, Wuerst says.

The maintenance facility, to be called the Jimmy Dean Service Center, is expected to be completed by April, she says. The facility is named for a gas line worker who died while responding to a residential outage during Ice Storm '96.

The facility will serve as a maintenance and repair center for Avista's growing fleet of vehicles powered by CNG, which is considered a cheaper, cleaner alternative to diesel fuel.

Avista owns 12 half-ton pickups that run on the fuel and are used in its natural gas operations for route services, such as meter reading, Wuerst says. Another 10 CNG-powered vehicles are on order, she says, adding, "We're in the process of getting more. We're buying a few at a time."

Wuerst says the CNG fueling station adjacent to the the Jimmy Dean Service Center eventually will be open to the public, while a similar fueling center at the company's main campus on Mission will serve Avista vehicles only.