Xanterra Parks and Resorts has acquired buildings in Columbia Falls to accommodate staff in time for the upcoming busy visitor season in Glacier National Park, the company’s general manager for its Glacier Division said Tuesday.

Marc Ducharme told the crowd at a Kalispell Chamber of Commerce luncheon that the company has acquired the old Pamida building in Columbia Falls, along with buildings adjacent to Montana Coffee Traders on U.S. 2.

The Pamida building will be used as Xanterra’s laundry center and as a warehouse, while the other buildings will provide office space for a full-time work force of about 60 people, he said.

Meanwhile, he said, the company continues to look for property to build a state-of-the-art storage and maintenance facility for Glacier Park’s fleet of 33 historic red touring buses.

For now, Xanterra is leasing hangar space at the Glacier Jet Center at Glacier Park International Airport to house the bus fleet, which has long been stored at East Glacier.

Ducharme was part of a “New Faces at Glacier” presentation to the Chamber that also featured Glacier Superintendent Jeff Mow and Mark Preiss, executive director of the Glacier National Park Conservancy, both of whom started their jobs last August.

At a similar event sponsored by the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 6, Ducharme said the Columbia Falls buildings had yet to be acquired, but he added there was some urgency.

Xanterra was awarded a 16-year contract last year to manage hotels, the red buses and food, beverage and retail outlets within the park that had been managed by Glacier Park Inc. for 32 years.

The transition has been rapid.

With Lake McDonald Lodge slated to open on May 25, “time is ticking,” Ducharme said at Tuesday’s Chamber event.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.