Bend, Ore.-based Les Schwab Tire Centers says it plans to start a $1 million remodel and expansion soon at its South Hill outlet here.

Plans for a 4,100-square-foot addition to the store, at 3105 S. Regal, have passed the city of Spokane's environmental review, and a building permit request is under review, city records show. That would make the 8,400-square-foot store nearly 50 percent larger.

The project will add four service bays to the tire center, which currently has seven bays, says Les Schwab spokeswoman Diane Aboulafia-D'Jaen. The current space will be reconfigured to include an expanded showroom, and the project will increase parking and warehouse spaces, she says.

"Les Schwab will select a contractor within a week to 10 days after the city awards a building permit," Aboulafia-D'Jaen says. LB Engineering Inc., of Bend, designed the project, and the Spokane office of Bellevue-based DCI Engineers Inc. conducted the environmental analysis of the project.

Les Schwab hasn't determined yet whether it will hire more employees when the project is completed, she says.

Les Schwab operates more than 400 tire centers throughout the West, including more than 20 stores in the Inland Northwest, the company's Web site says.