A fundraising campaign launched Tuesday aims to raise $1 million by Sept. 30 to purchase the Gateway Community Center and complete renovations within the facility.

United Way of Northwest Montana, the fiscal agent and project facilitator for Gateway Community Center, is at the helm of the ambitious campaign. It is the umbrella organization under which a variety of other nonprofit groups operate at the former Gateway West Mall building on the west side of Kalispell.

Earlier this year an online auction failed to attract any bidders for a portion of the building owned by American Capital Management. The starting bid was $600,000 for 100,643 square feet. Since then United Way has been working toward buying the facility.

“We did put an offer in and we’re trying to finalize that offer,” United Way Director Sherry Stevens said. “Our Realtor worked with theirs; we are trying to work on financing, grants, other funding mechanisms.”

Stevens said the $600,000 starting bid was a figure set by the online auction company. “It was an opening number; it was never the cost of the facility,” she added.

The Save the Gateway campaign is a one-time effort through the end of the month and is completely separate from the upcoming annual United Way campaign that raises money for numerous nonprofit agencies, Stevens said.

“This time is for the public campaign,” she said. “Things will be going on behind the scenes for a long time, but we don’t want to harm the annual United Way campaign that so many nonprofit groups depend on. That’s why we’re cutting it off” on Sept. 30.

The community center will be vying for some substantial grants through large foundations, Stevens said.

In 2008 United Way signed a 10-year lease with American Capital for the Gateway space that is home to a dozen nonprofits. An option to purchase a portion of the mall building is part of the lease agreement.

Another portion of the mall — 60,000 square feet occupied by the TeleTech call center — is owned by the Flathead County Economic Development Authority.

The transformation of the mall into a community center began in 2009. Since then, 3,042 volunteers have donated 23,341 hours of time to the Gateway Community Center project.

In-kind contributions of lumber, drywall, building materials and a multitude of other resources totaling more than $200,000 have been invested in the project. Cash funds invested total $162,222.

Donations would be used for several aspects of the project, including the down payment to buy the building, a build-out fund to complete renovations and an ongoing maintenance fund.

Among the proposed improvements are an activity center that would accommodate larger events and meetings and the build-out of eight additional units for nonprofits.

Glacier Bank employees renovated the food court as a community service project.

The gathering court on the south end of the mall, now called the Kalispell Regional Health Court, is in the process of being completed to provide a meeting place for community members.

The court will feature health-related brochures and materials for the community as well as a public access computer.

The Summit Medical Fitness Center developed a walking program at the mall building that regularly attracts about 60 people who daily walk the Bear Track.

“This human service campus provides a unique opportunity to bring together nonprofit service providers to better meet the needs of clients,” Stevens said, reiterating the center’s mission statement. “Proximity to clients, abundant parking, job training and convenient public transportation are some of the other attractive amenities of this facility.”

The campus arrangement allows nonprofits to share services, reducing duplication and administration overhead, she said.

The goal of the Gateway Community Center is to house more than 19 human-service agencies that provide 50 different programs and services. These agencies would employ 93 full-time and 26 part-time staff members and use about 70 volunteers on a daily basis to deliver services.

Since 2009, the project has created 19 new positions through the expansion of services to the community.

Nonprofit agencies and services currently located at the center are AARP and VITA Tax Service, Boy Scouts, CASA for Kids, Flathead Best Beginnings Community Council, Flathead Food Bank, Girl Scouts, Literacy Center of Northwest Montana, Montana Conservation Corps, New West Medicare, Second Helpings Thrift Store, Summit Independent Living Center and the United Way and Volunteer Center.

Gateway Community Center is within walking distance of several service agencies, including veterans services, Samaritan House, the American Red Cross offices and the Social Security offices.

Fundraising events such as a radiothon and walkathon are planned in the coming weeks, with dates yet to be announced.

Stevens said if Gateway Community Center can’t raise the necessary money “and it all falls apart,” all donations would be returned in full.

Donations can be made online at www.savethegateway.org, or send donations to Gateway Community Center, P.O. Box 7684, Kalispell, MT 59904.

For more information call 752-7266.

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