A Denver-based architecture firm is requesting a building permit to remodel the old Borders bookstore at Mountain View Plaza shopping center in north Kalispell.

The permit request identifies up to $452,000 of potential improvements to the store, which has been empty since last fall after the national book store chain went bankrupt.

The building permit indicates that the future tenant would be a specialty or natural foods grocery, city staff said.

Because of proposed changes to the building’s exterior, the permit request must go through Kalispell’s architectural review committee before it can be issued. That committee meets twice a month.

Vega Architecture filed for the building permit application. 

Rob Forslund, a project manager at Vega, said the firm has a nondisclosure agreement in place with the client and that he could not comment on the application Monday afternoon.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.