Last week the Columbia Falls City Council approved the development of a new 18-unit apartment complex in downtown.
The council gave the green light to Mick Ruis’ proposal, which is emerging as his latest local investment. The apartment complex, valued at an estimated $3 million, will replace the former DaVall Building at the corner of Fifth Street West and First Avenue West.
Ruis, a prominent local developer and philanthropist, purchased the empty building two years ago and is replacing it with a three-story apartment complex. According to plans submitted to the city, the 22,000-square-foot complex will feature 12 two-bedroom units and six three-bedroom units. There will be 18 parking spaces on the north side of the building.
Ruis has purchased several pieces of property in Columbia Falls in recent years and is overseeing several redevelopment projects. He is developing an eight-unit condominium building on Nucleus Avenue next to the Park Merc Building and Columbia Bar. He constructed the 25,000-square-foot Cedar Creek Lodge, which he sold. And he is currently renovating The Bandit Bar and Saloon on Nucleus Avenue and turning it into a sports bar with a connecting steakhouse.