Walker Construction Inc., of Spokane, has started work on an $11.6 million job to build a Coeur d'Alene Tribe outpatient clinic in North Idaho.

Tom Hansen, Walker Construction co-owner and project manager, says the company broke ground in mid-July on the Benewah Medical Center near Plummer, about 30 miles south of Coeur d'Alene. The tribe estimates the total project cost for the clinic at $17.3 million when including design work, medical equipment, and other expenses.

Spokane-based NAC|Architecture PS designed the 50,000-square-foot, two-floor center. It will be located on a 6-acre parcel of old farmland the tribe owns on the west side of U.S. 95, about a mile northwest of the current medical center, which is located at 1115 B Street in Plummer.

Hansen says the clinic construction is expected to be completed by September 2012. It will have more than twice the floor space of the current 20-year-old facility and will include 24 exam rooms on its 30,000-square-foot main floor.

The tribe's medical, dental, community health, counseling, pharmacy, medical lab, and patient financial services all will be located on the main level. Its administration offices, classrooms, a staff break room, electrical and mechanical rooms, and storage space all will be located on the 20,000-square-foot lower level.

A separate 1,600-square-foot building will house maintenance equipment for the medical center.

The project will be funded largely through an $11.8 million federal grant awarded last year through the Affordable Health Care Act. The tribe will chip in $3 million, and the medical center has set aside another $2.5 million for the project.

The Benewah Medical Center currently employs 122 people. It serves 6,500 patients, about half of whom aren't tribal members.

Helo Hancock, legislative director for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, says the tribe is discussing several options for future use of the older clinic, including possibly office spaces for tribal departments.