Depot Place opened its doors this month and about a third of the 40 senior apartments in downtown Kalispell already are leased out.

Tom Griffin was moving in some of his things Monday and was excited about his new home on East Center Street.

“They’re great,” Griffin said of the apartments. He added that the location is just about perfect for him, with grocery stores and a new pizza place nearby. “I’m thinking about parking my car and getting a bike.”

Interest in the senior apartments has been strong, said Alex Burkhalter, a project manager with Sparrow Group, the Missoula affordable housing development firm that built Depot Place.

Apartments are available to income-eligible people 55 and older. Rents vary based on income but include all utilities except cable and telephone. They range from $415 to $575 a month for one-bedroom units and from $495 to $650 a month for two-bedroom units.

“We think with this project’s location the units will go quick,” Burkhalter said. “We’ve got signs up, we’re running some advertisements. We continue to have a lot of folks interested, but don’t want to discourage anyone from coming in and checking it out.”

Construction of the $4.2 million senior apartment building started last September and wrapped up this spring. Affordable housing tax credits from Montana Board of Housing helped make it a reality.

“People have watched this project from the beginning,” community manager Karen Sandon said with a number of applications on her desk.

That interest has grown after the first U-Haul truck showed up out front.

“We’re seeing a lot of walk-ins. We’re seeing a lot of retired people coming in, wanting to get an apartment to get out of their house and the maintenance and the taxes for a more care-free retirement,” Sandon said.

Depot Place was built on a vacant lot.

Other properties along East Center Street have seen significant redevelopment during the last year. That includes a major renovation of the historic Loading Dock. The once-languishing building now houses Brannigan’s Pub, Sweet No Wheat Bakery, Brix Bottleshop and Off Center Salon. Several new offices have opened in the area and When in Rome Pizzeria is opening a new location around the corner on First Avenue East.

Depot Place could grow in the future. Sparrow Group has plans to eventually build a second, 40-unit apartment building at the site.

“The most convincing argument for a phase two will be a full and happy phase one,” Burkhalter said. “The financing source we used is very competitive and I don’t think looking across the state that it’s quite time to turn in another Kalispell application yet. But that’s definitely in our plans.”

For more information about Depot Place, located at 249 E. Center St., call 756-1204.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at [email protected].