COEUR d'ALENE - The BigR Store on Kathleen Avenue is expanding to almost three times its current size.

Store manager Brian Cravens said the company broke ground on the expansion earlier this month, and the remodel will be complete in about seven months.

The project will add an additional 50,000 square feet of floor space to the existing 27,000 square feet.

"This is a new platform we are using with our stores," Cravens said. "We are the fourth store of this size."

Cravens said he has not been told the cost of the expansion, but said his store will be adding about 20 more employees who will be phased in during the seven-month construction cycle.

"We will probably start hiring next month," he said. "We want to get them in here and get them trained before we expand."

Cravens said BigR has 10 stores in Montana, Idaho and Washington. Three of those stores are located in Idaho. The company also owns two distribution centers.

The decision to expand the Coeur d'Alene store was based on the lack of floor space. Craven said he currently has to rotate lines of merchandise on a seasonal basis.

After the expansion, he said the Coeur d'Alene store will be able to offer many of those seasonal lines year-round.