The signs are up and new carpeting is in at the Pitman doctor’s office on Nucleus Avenue. The office now belongs to Flathead Family Foot Care, which opened this week in Columbia Falls.

Dr. Robert Clase, a podiatrist from Kalispell, bought the building at the beginning of April. He said he used companies in the town to renovate the building and start the business. The clinic has four patient rooms and will have an X-ray machine soon.

He hopes to become a fixture on Nucleus Avenue for many years. Clase said he loves the community feel of Columbia Falls.

“It’s really fun to be part of this business community as well as the community at large,” he said recently.

He grew up in a small town in Michigan. While pursuing an undergraduate degree in Michigan, he met his wife, Jessica Mosier, who is now a psychiatrist in Kalispell. They spent nearly a decade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for medical school.

“When we left Philadelphia, we knew we wanted to be somewhere that we could pursue our outdoor activities and have a fun lifestyle,” he said.

They knew they would be busy in their medical careers so they chose an area that would double as a vacation destination.

He had lived in the Flathead Valley before. He was a bellman at Many Glacier Hotel for three summers back in the early 2000s. He’s big into hiking and climbing mountains.

Three years ago they moved to the valley. He started off at Step Ahead Foot and Ankle Clinic in Kalispell.

Then he took some time off when their baby, Carver, was born.

Clase decided to start his own practice because he saw a need for a podiatrist in the North Valley. He looked for a place in both Whitefish and Columbia Falls before falling in love with the office on Nucleus. However, first he talked with other local business owners and heard that the town was experiencing a resurgence of new growth. So he decided to buy it, instead of leasing, in order to be a part of the current growth.

Clase didn’t always know he wanted to be a foot doctor.

In between high school and college he injured the ball of his foot. He played basketball and baseball in high school, and was going to play basketball in college. He tried several doctors who told him he needed surgery. But then a podiatrist fitted him with the right kind of orthotics — specialized shoe inserts — and it kept him playing ball.

He didn’t have to miss a season. This experience drew him to study podiatry.

He wanted to help other people remain active and on their feet. He wanted to help the 95-year-old who can’t walk to the mailbox or the 16-year-old soccer player who is sidelined with a foot problem.

The Columbia Falls practice will do just that. It will cater to athletic, geriatric and diabetic foot care, he said. Clase also makes nursing home visits.