Let’s go on a trip down memory lane, shall we, to the start of the new millennium — a time when Flathead Valley residents still partied at the Outlaw Inn south of town, and in the basement of the Grand Hotel at the Kalispell Bar (KB); a time before farmland was gobbled up by the big box-stores like Walmart, Costco and the Hutton Ranch Plaza. In the year 2000, the City of Kalispell was only 5.5 square miles and the population was 14,223.
Fast forward 25 years and the Outlaw Inn property sits vacant, the KB is long gone and commercial developments like the Toyota dealership and large-scale residential projects continue sprawling in all directions. The municipality’s population has grown to more than 31,296 residents and its geographic size now totals 13.5 square miles.
In the last two years, the city has annexed roughly 360 acres into the city, with 207 acres absorbed in 2025 alone.
The 355 single-family housing development (pictured below) on Tronstad Road at the far north end of the city ranks as the largest annexation in recent years, with the city acquiring 110.5 acres in 2024. It’s followed by The Reserve at Johnson Ranch, a 700-unit, mixed development on Stillwater Road to the west, which was absorbed into the city last August.
By comparison, the city annexed only 6.3 acres in 2020.
Construction value, too, increased dramatically in 2025 with the total value of all types rising to $249 million, compared to $118 million the year before. In 2015, the construction value was only $64 million.
Large-scale commercial projects like the new 162,835-square-foot Costco and the 58,968-square-foot Kalispell Toyota have contributed to the dramatic increase, while a 52,922-square-foot Stockman Bank will be located directly across U.S. Highway 93 at the north end of the city.
As the healthcare industry grows, Kalispell continues constructing new facilities: the Montana Imaging Center and the expanded Greater Valley Health Center are the latest examples. For those seeking Botox and cosmetic alterations, the Mountain West Plastic Surgery Center and Medical Spa recently opened in west Kalispell.
Last year, a building permit for the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing was issued and the 18,347-square-foot facility is currently under construction at 311 Heritage Way on the Logan Health campus.
As I scanned through the city’s report, I didn’t notice any building permits for new or remodeled bars and restaurants on the books in the last few years. I’ve heard the nostalgic tales of the former Red’s Wine and Blues restaurant, which was located in the KM Building, before it shuttered its doors for good in 2010, and the days when the Outlaw Inn (pictured above) hosted Hollywood stars and dance parties is ancient history.
Even the Scoreboard Sports Bar and Casino, which Kalispell’s Assistant Director of Development Services PJ Sorensen said was annexed in the 1990s, on the eastern edge of the city, shut down earlier this month after 30 years.
Maybe we’ll be partying at the mall in the coming years after developers transform the 80,000-square-foot shopping center into the planned Parkline District, where an event venue, a hotel and retail shops are in the works.
I’m Maggie Dresser, here with today’s Daily Roundup.
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