Page 30 - Flathead Beacon // 4.29.15

30 | APRIL 29, 2015
ONE VALLEY,
BUSINESS MONTHLY FLATHEADBEACON.COM ECONOMIC INDICATORS
ONE VISION Kellie Danielson Gateway West
Mall Up for Auction
UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES BY STATES (MAR.) 11TH LOWEST: Montana 4.1%
LOWEST:
Nebraska 2.9%
AVERAGE GAS PRICES BY STATE
REPURPOSING OLDER MALLS ARE A CHAL- lenge. While traveling in Bozeman last week, I noticed an older mall with banners draped across the building for sale or lease. The exterior shab- by, paint peeling, one could not help but notice it-prime real estate on a major thoroughfare; the traffic counts strong. The vacant huge buildings become eyesores if not occupied. There is not enough lease income to sup- port the on-going maintenance.
If you have not been inside Kalispell’s older mall, Gateway West, I believe you would be impressed with the activity inside the mall. There are a mixture of pri- vate businesses and nonprofits leasing space. The long corridor is a draw for walkers of all ages seeking a walk- ing path without snow and ice.
United Way led a vision to convert the many va- cant spaces into useful office and workspace for enti- ties such as the Montana Conservation Corps, CASA, Girl Scouts, United Way, the Food Bank, and New West Health Services. The parking lot is over half full most of the time. The large employer Teletech occupies the southern end of the mall. The owner of the majority of the mall is a group of individuals known as American Capital Group, with headquarters in California. Flat- head County Economic Development Authority owns 67,000 square feet that Teletech leases from the Au- thority, supporting hundreds of jobs, local business in- vestment, and paid taxes from Teletech.
American Capital has decided to sell Gateway West mall. On May 19, the mall will be auctioned with an on- line auction site, called Auction.com. The minimum asking bid is $600,000. My hope is someone locally will acquire the mall and support the tenants and more im- portantly the vision that brings purpose to an out-of- the-way very large building.
Kellie Danielson is president and CEO of Montana West
Economic Development and Flathead County Economic Development Authority, which are both based in Kalispell. Visit www.dobusinessinmontana.com/
IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN INSIDE KALISPELL’S OLDER MALL, GATEWAY WEST, I BELIEVE YOU WOULD BE IMPRESSED WITH THE ACTIVITY INSIDE THE MALL.
HIGHESTCALIFORNIA LOWEST S. CAROLINA MONTANA(8THLOWEST)
$ 3.4 0 /gal.
NATIONAL AVERAGE
5.5% 2014
17,392 15,192
15000 20,000
Trade, Transportation and Utilities Information
Financial Activities
Professional & Business Services Education & Health Services Leisure & Hospitality
Other Services Government
+0.3% -3.0% -1.9% +0.2% -0.1% -0.7% +1.1% +0.1%
SOURCE: Glacier Park International Airport
Figures do not include self-employed or agricultural employment. In total, Montana’s non- agricultural, seasonally adjusted payroll decreased by 500 jobs in March.
SOURCE: Montana Department of Labor & Industry
HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATES BY MONTANA COUNTIES (MARCH)
MONTH IN STOCKS
Lincoln
Glacier 10.5% Sanders 10%
Mineral Petroleum 7.9% Big Horn 7.8% Granite 7.1% Phillips 6.9% Flathead 6.8% Ravalli 6%
0% 5%
10%
15% 20%
12.1%
9.5%
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE NASDAQ
S & P 500
PLUM CREEK (PCL)
APPLIED MATERIAL (AMAT) GLACIER BANK (GBCI) NORTHWESTERN ENERGY (NWE) CENTURYLINK (CTL)
+2.1% 18,080.70 +3.7% 5,076.74 +2.6% 2,115.27 -2.4% 42.38 -11.2% 20.27 +4.4% 25.86 -0.02% 37.65 +6.3% 36.27
HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION
HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION
SMALL BUSINESS
HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION EVENT
Friday May 15, 2015 • Flathead County Landfill
DANGER
HAZARDOUS WASTE
Flathead County Solid Waste District
758-5910
FREE HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION
THIRD SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH
Flathead County has teamed up with Veolia Environmental Services to provide an economical way to dispose of small amounts of hazardous waste.
If your small business would like to participate, please call Veolia Environmental Services for pre-registration information and a cost esti- mate. Call Gary Larsen: 1-877-484-0129
TO PARTICIPATE: Call to request a registration form, fill it out, mail it back and we’ll send you a postcard with your appointment time.
Items Accepted at Collection:
Oil based paint, thinner, solvents, adhesives, stains, cleaners, furniture stripper, ammonia, pesticides, her- bicides, insecticides, poisons, fertilizers, tree sprays, fuel, carburetor, cleaner, lye, turpentine
HIGHEST:
District of Columbia 7.7%
SOURCE: Montana Department of Labor & Industry
2015 0
MONTANA EMPLOYMENT CHANGE BY INDUSTRY (MARCH TO APRIL)
Natural Resources and Mining
Construction 0% Manufacturing -0.5%
5,000
ARRIVALS
5,000
10,000
SOURCE: Montana Department of Labor & Industry
Month in Stocks: Listed in trading price on Monday, April 27 and percent change from closing on March 27.
+1.1%
2014
2015
0
16,176 14,246
10,000 15,000
$ 2 . 2 6
$ 2.3 1 /gal.
SOURCE: GasBuddy.com
GLACIER PARK INT'L AIRPORT STATS (MAR.) DEPARTURES
HOUSING STATISTICS
IN FLATHEAD COUNTY (JANUARY THRU MARCH)
Residential Sales Residential Land Sales
2012 2013 2014 2015
233 236 237 271 49 92 107 96
SOURCE: Jim Kelley at Kelley Appraisal in Kalispell
/gal.
20,000