Kalispell Center Mall Sells to Texas Development Company
The shopping center along the Parkline Trail in the city’s core recently sold to SHOP Development Company, but the property’s future remains unclear
By Maggie Dresser
After years of rumors surrounding the future of the Kalispell Center Mall as more department stores and shopping centers closed nationwide, the 348,742-square-foot commercial space on Main Street this summer sold to a Texas developer.
While the sale price of the mall has not been disclosed, Daniel Fuller of SHOP Development Company recently confirmed the sale to the Beacon in an email, calling the transaction a “defining opportunity” for the company.
Fuller described the Parkline Trail as a major attractant that led to the purchase of the property and, while few details were provided, he said the company plans to “deliver a project that everyone will be very proud of for generations to come.” The group is currently working through concept and design planning ideas with stakeholders and a “dream team” of third-party consultants and will provide more information as plans develop, he said.
According to SHOP’s website, the “Parkline District” property “presents an extraordinary opportunity to redevelop an irreplaceable infill property in a high-growth market by repositioning the asset and increasing density under zoning by right.”
Based in Texas, SHOP has offices across the state with a portfolio of properties used for retail and mixed use across the southern United States and the Midwest. In addition to the Kalispell Center Mall, the company also owns two properties in Whitefish including the LARCH House, which is planned to offer 32 luxury lodging quarters and a communal space with a restaurant and a rooftop spa pool in the Railway District. The company also lists 250 E. Second St. in Whitefish as another one of its properties.
According to LoopNet, the Kalispell Center Mall adjacent to the Red Lion Hotel currently has 50 retail spaces housing mall staples like JC Penney, Claire’s and Zumiez along with local gift shops and restaurants like Hungry Hun.
Built in 1986 at the site of the old railroad yard, the Kalispell Center Mall launched after a market study showed that the Flathead Valley was losing shoppers to larger cities, prompting Spokane-based development company Goodale & Barbieri Company to propose building a 170,000 square-foot mall.
Despite opposition from the local business owners who were evicted to make way for the mall, the Kalispell City Council approved the project, and the shopping center opened later that year.
Red Lion Hotel eventually purchased the mall, but owners sold it back to the original developer for $11.6 million in 2013 and signed a long-term lease to maintain its hotel on the east side of the mall.
By 2017, the Kalispell Herberger’s completed an expansion that doubled its size to 80,000 square feet but closed shortly after the store’s parent company, Bon-Ton Stores, filed for bankruptcy.
The mall’s property manager and marketing director Eric Peterson declined to comment for this story, but told the Beacon in 2018 that he remained optimistic about the property, largely because of the future Parkline Trail.
Completed in 2022, the $8.1 million linear path along the former railway extends from Woodland Park west to Meridian Road and is part of the Kalispell Core and Rail redevelopment program, a project designed to revamp the areas surrounding the railroad and promote economic growth.
The Parkline Trail has since brought developments like The Silos apartments, which will eventually bring almost 200 units to the former CHS grain elevator property west of the mall on Center Street and Fifth Avenue. The Parkline Towers on the east end of the trail are currently under construction and will bring 244 apartment units to the city while SunRift Beer Company is located just north of the mall.