Handle on Business: Growth prompts KMC to add parking

North Idaho’s biggest employer, Kootenai Medical Center, has gotten really big – too big for its own parking accommodations, anyway. And it’s going to get bigger.

Built just a couple of years ago, the four-level employee parking garage holds 392 cars. It will be closed Jan. 29 for the addition of three more levels with 300 more spaces. This will be the tallest structure north of downtown Coeur d’Alene. Hmm. Maybe the top level will have a lake or river view.

The lower four floors of the seven-level garage, free to employees, should open in late April. No opening date yet for those new top three levels.

Meanwhile, employees will have the option of using a free shuttle bus from the new parking lot at the end of Ironwood Court northwest of KMC and now accessible by a new road connecting just south of Interstate 90.

Another KMC parking lot – directly north of the hospital – will get even tighter as 80 spaces are consumed by a new support services building.

That new 50,000-square-foot, two- and three-level building will connect to the main building with a covered walkway. It will accommodate about 150 employees of 14 departments now spread among several locations. The support services building should be completed in May 2008.

Although KMC has 1,629 employees, the hospital has joined the rest of the nation in suffering from a shortage of nurses. It is advertising positions for 33 registered nurses and four certified nursing assistants.

Wow. Maybe the garage should be nine stories.

Iron Temple Gym

Hard-core strength athletes now have a place to work out where their strange noises won’t bother anyone. The atmosphere is a chorus line for grunters and groaners.

Opening in the middle of December at 5648 Government Way, Iron Temple Gym offers complete equipment and training for serious bodybuilders. It includes squat racks, dead lifts, weight benches, dumbbells, leg equipment, bikes, treadmills, Stairmasters, a Paramount Jungle Gym and a juice and supplement bar. Programs can be customized for each member.

Trainers and strength competitors for 10 years, Luke and Christie Patterson own the business with her father, Paul Kawalak. An Idaho native, Luke Patterson has won the title of Second-Strongest Man in the West as a powerlifter and strongman athlete. Christie Patterson is originally from San Jose and came to Idaho in 1995. They met through their common interests.

The gym also is popular for cardiovascular exercise.

“Eighty percent of our members are everyday Joes,” Luke Patterson said. “Fifty percent are women.”

Memberships are $35 monthly with no contracts and personal training extra. Hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 10 to 5 Saturdays. Weekday hours will extend to 10 p.m. Phone (208) 762-9130. The Web site is www.irontemplegym.com.

The grand opening is Jan. 20 with a three-hour live broadcast on Rock 94.5 FM radio and a contest for the strongest high school football team.

Tidbits

“People have commented about the bare saltbox sides of The Loft 609 condos being built at 609 Sherman Ave. The place can’t have windows on the sides because it’s built to property edges, and other buildings could be built on the sides. It’s the same reason the nearby Resort City Inn can’t have windows in the back looking at the lake.

“A Riverstone Regal Cinema spokesperson said the parent company doesn’t send the 14-screen CdA theater all movies because they “might not play well” here. We whined that “The Queen” was never shown here, evidently because it’s too artsy for North Idaho, even though it may win top Academy Awards.

“Last week I reported that the spot where an office building now under construction at Northwest Boulevard and Highway 95 originally was a Smitty’s Pancake House. Wrong. A caller corrected that Wally’s Drive-In was there from 1946 to 1962.

“The ribbon-cutting for The Royal Bean Queen latte stand at 1115 N. Spokane St. will be 10 a.m. Friday. Lattes will be half-price all day.

“As our area grows, it’s too bad more busy intersections don’t have separate right-turn lanes. Of course, the wider roads cost more to build – but they’ll cost more later. The congestion already can be discouraging, especially when the land is blocked by a car that’s not turning right.

“Handle on Business is moving to Saturday starting next week. Readers will find it each week in the Handle Extra section beginning Jan. 20.