Blew's Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley, has won a $5.1 million contract to convert an old grocery store building in Puyallup, Wash., into a vocational-technical high school skills center.

Separately, the contractor is in the midst of a $1.2 million project to build a Yakima library, says Jeff Orwick, a Blew's project manager. It began work on the Richard E. Ostrander West Valley Community Library last October and expects to complete the structure in June.

In Puyallup, Blew's started work in February on the Pierce County Skills Center technical trades building. For that project, Blew's will upgrade a vacant grocery store for technical classrooms and shops. The skills center serves students from seven school districts in that area and is operated by the Bethel School District.

The Spokane Valley contractor's work at the skills center also involves building a 2,800-square-foot addition to the old store to give it an overall size of almost 39,000 square feet. Additionally, Blew's is completing interior footings and foundation work to seismically upgrade the structure, which involves some interior demolition work, Orwick says. However, the shell of the building will remain intact.

The job involves electrical and utility work, lighting improvements, parking lot paving, and landscaping for the building, which will sit on 11 acres of land owned by the district, Orwick says. It's located near another skills center building on the same property, he adds, and Blew's expects to complete the project by July 15.

The Yakima library that the company is constructing will have nearly 10,000 square feet of floor space when completed. It will replace a Summitview Library that Yakima Valley Libraries has been operating in a leased, 6,900-square-foot mall space. The Yakima-based firm Brockway, Opfer, Raab Architecture PLLC designed the new structure, located in the west part of Yakima, says Kim Hixson, the library district's director.

The new facility was funded through a bond issue and is expected to cost about $1.5 million total, including the construction contract with Blew's, she says.

The library district operates a total of 18 libraries.