Projects honored for respecting history, neighborhood, landscape

A new, nine-bedroom house designed to be a home for women and children without one, a commercial building and a renovated historic building in downtown Kalispell won acclaim this week from the city’s Architectural Review Committee.

The Montana Coffee Traders makeover at 111 Main St. received one of three Kalispell Architectural Awards. The remodeling project downtown received first-place recognition for a successful balancing act — honoring a building’s historical character while also adding modern touches.

Two other projects received the annual award: the A Ray of Hope Women’s/Children’s Shelter at 106 Fifth Ave. W. took second place and the Glacier View Professional building at 165 Commons Loop took third.

The awards were presented Monday night during a Kalispell City Council meeting.

Earlier, P.J. Sorenson, a planner with Kalispell’s Department of Planning and Building, said the women’s and children’s shelter was recognized for “the special effort they took to fit within the residential character of the surrounding neighborhood.”

He said that even though the shelter didn’t meet the strict definition of a single-family use, the new building’s design sought to mimic the look of the historic homes in the area.

“They paid attention to a lot of small details in order to blend in and were very successful in doing so,” Sorenson said.

Meanwhile, the new Glacier View Professional building is located on a hillside in a newer commercial development. Sorenson said the project’s design incorporated the site’s topography to help the building blend with the natural landscape.

“They creatively used the lines of the building and different types of glass to create an image reminiscent of a cascading waterfall,” he said.

The contractor for the Montana Coffee Traders project was Sunrise Builders and the architect was Dia Sullivan, Sorenson reported.

Sullivan said Monday that the renovation of the older building presented structural and building-code challenges, but that a collaborative effort, with input from the developer, contractor and tenant, yielded a successful project.

“Our goal was to enhance the facade and keep the building within the historic character of downtown,” Sullivan said.

She said Montana Coffee Traders handled much of the interior design work.

Hammerquist Casalegno was the contractor for the Glacier View Professional building and architecture was handled by Sharon Jackola of SRJ Architecture and Dia Sullivan.

Sullivan said Jackola was instrumental in the building’s design.

The A Ray of Hope shelter, now known as Peggy’s House, opened July 21, just days before Peggy Christensen, founder of A Ray of Hope, died at age 72.

Dave McLean, a retired builder, directed the construction of A Ray of Hope. Christensen had asked him to build the new shelter and he had agreed.

McLean said he felt the city was supportive of the project — and the community.

“This house was paid for fully by donations of money, time and materials,” he said. “In other words, we don’t owe a penny on it.”

And the shelter offers a wonderful environment, he said, for women and children who have nowhere else to go.

“When you go in there, it feels like home,” McLean said.

Reporter Duncan Adams may be reached at dadams@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4407.