Focused Fitness LLC, a company here that offers physical-education curriculum and related services to school districts, is building a two-story office and training facility in Spokane Valley.

R & C Construction LLC, of Hayden, is the contractor for the 18,000-square-foot building, at 2426 S. Dishman-Mica.

The estimated project value is $1.7 million, according to information filed with the city of Spokane Valley.

Its new building is designed to have a gym of a little more than 4,200 square feet, a first-floor office space of just over 6,000 square feet, a second floor business space of almost 5,000 square feet, plus basement storage of almost 3,000 square feet.

The construction, which began in March, is expected to take about a year to complete, and Focused Fitness will then move all of its operations to the new location, says Jabet Wheeler, the company's marketing and sales director.

The company now occupies about 2,400 square feet of office space in a multitenant building that it owns on Dishman-Mica, just north of the site of the building that's under construction, and a 2,000-square-foot house that has been converted to office space at 11132 E. 32nd.

The company, which owners Karen Cowan and Ron Malm started about 10 years ago, has 17 full-time employees, Wheeler says.

"We have grown so much; we have employed eight new people in the past year," she adds. "We also have some consultants across the U.S."

The new site will benefit Focused Fitness and its customers, "particularly for the staff training and implementation," Wheeler says. "Currently, we do most of our training at the customer site, but of course there are situations where we want to conduct open training at our own site and have people coming into the region."

In addition to its curriculum and related services, Focused Fitness also has a software system it calls WELNET, a customizable web-based application that gathers students' academic, fitness, and behavioral health information. Additionally, the business offers physical-education teacher training and curriculum consultation.

The business also offers grant writing services geared toward fitness and health afterschool programs—and toward schools that don't have physical-education teachers onsite and need to have classroom teachers conduct physical activities, Wheeler adds.

"Our materials teach children about how to keep them healthy," Wheeler asserts.