The sound of progress was audible as hammers pounded and saws buzzed during the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce lunch meeting Thursday.

The gathering purposely was staged near the Shopko Hometown construction project at Mountain Mall to give Chamber members a close-up look at the project while various business leaders talked about the future of the U.S. 93 South corridor in Whitefish.

In addition to the $3.7 million mall renovation to accommodate Shopko Hometown, several other businesses have expanded or are planning new projects along the highway corridor that serves as the southern entrance to Whitefish, according to Chamber board chairman G.J. Hensen.

North Valley Hospital has a capital campaign underway to expand its birth center, the former DePratu Ford dealership is under new ownership and the Don K car dealership completed a major expansion last year. Sportsman & Ski Haus upgraded its store at the mall and completed an exterior overhaul that was the catalyst for an exterior facelift of the entire mall complex.

Coming up are the construction of a Hampton Inn and an apartment complex off the highway.

Much of the Chamber program centered around the Shopko Hometown project.

“This is pretty exciting for us,” Mountain Mall Director of Operations Tom Kraus said about the addition of the 37,500-square-foot department store. “We looked for a long time for [a store] to resolve the issue of buying socks and underwear in Whitefish.”

Aaron Cragun, district manager of Shopko, said with a smile that it’s the first time he’s heard people more excited about “socks and underwear” than other items the store will offer.

Shopko rolled out its Hometown store format five years ago as a smaller version of its larger stores.

“All of our growth is in Hometown [stores] in small communities,” Cragun said. “This business model is one we’re really proud of.”

Fifty Shopko Hometown stores are planned this year across the country, with new Montana stores being built in Whitefish, Wolf Point and a second Hometown store in Sidney.

The Whitefish store will employ 25 to 35 people initially when it opens this fall — a tentative September opening is planned. About one-third of the work force will be full-time employees with two-thirds working part-time. That configuration could change somewhat depending on store traffic, Cragun said.

He stressed Shopko’s charitable giving programs in communities the company serves. Last year Shopko Foundation donated $1.1 million to nonprofits and schools. Its Help Us Give Back campaign donates to local schools. When the Whitefish store opens, Whitefish High School will receive $2,500 as part of the grand opening.

The mall exterior will be remodeled with a look similar to Sportsman with stone work, covered walkways and a similar color scheme.

Don Kaltschmidt, owner of the Don K car dealership, wrapped up the program by talking about why he’s “bullish” on Whitefish.

“I believe Whitefish is the premier town in the valley,” Kaltschmidt said. “We’ve seen a lot of action here, and a lot of people want to invest in Whitefish.”

In addition to solid growth along U.S. 93 South, Kaltschmidt took note of Whitefish’s “fantastic” downtown, and said city leaders are beginning to understand the importance of the highway corridor as well as the downtown.

Kaltschmidt completed a new Subaru showroom a year ago that gives his dealership 53,000 square feet for sales and service of Subaru, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram and Jeep vehicles.

The Chamber just wrapped up a series of neighborhood business meetings aimed at getting input about issues in various commercial sectors of the city. One of those meetings focused on the U.S. 93 South area.

The city of Whitefish is in the throes of completing a corridor study for U.S. 93 West in Whitefish and has plans to do a similar study for the southern highway corridor.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.