Hobby Lobby plans to build a 55,000-square-foot store in Spring Prairie Commons near the Kidsports athletic complex in Kalispell.

The $2.4 million store will be built on one of four larger building pads on the west side of the fourth phase of Spring Prairie, Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz said.

Karen Blumenstein of Flower & Stone, a partner and developer of the project, met with the city architectural review committee on Tuesday. She said the store site plan was approved and she has a signed lease for the store.

Construction of Hobby Lobby should get underway by October, with the store opening planned next spring, Blumenstein said. The architectural design of the store is an upgrade from the company’s standard store prototype.

Hobby Lobby is the fourth project to emerge as the 28-acre plot is developed on state school trust land. There are 14 building pads.

Marriott SpringHill Suites just opened there, and construction is underway on a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop.

Mattress Firm and Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill also will be tenants in Spring Prairie Commons.

“We’re patiently waiting on some more full-service, sit-down restaurants” to commit to going into the development, Blumenstein said. “We’re hopeful with the price of liquor licenses going down a little bit, they’ll take a look at Kalispell.”

The cost of a liquor license was more than $1 million in 2008, she said. Now the licenses are in the $700,000 to $800,000 range, “and that makes a big difference.”

In 2014 the Montana State Land Board approved a long-term lease with Kroenke Group to develop the property for the fourth phase of Spring Prairie. The lease is expected to bring in $2.7 million in state revenue over the next 25 years.

The previous three phases of Spring Prairie — which include Lowe’s, Costco and Cabela’s — also involved state land parcels in the 25- to 30-acre range.

Phase three, anchored by Cabela’s, is almost completely built out. One of the final pieces in the third phase is a Chick-fil-A restaurant. That building is framed and probably will open by November, Blumenstein said.

Two tenants in a “shops building” next to MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill and Pub will be announced within the next couple of months, she added.

Hobby Lobby is a chain of retail arts and crafts stores headquartered in Oklahoma City. The company started in 1970 when entrepreneurs David and Barbara Green began making miniature picture frames in their garage. A few years later the Green family opened the first Hobby Lobby in a tiny 300-square-foot retail space.

Today the company operates more than 700 stores across the United States with a 55,000-square-foot store template. Hobby Lobby offers more than 70,000 arts, crafts, hobbies, home decor, holiday and seasonal products, the company website states.

According to a press release issued earlier this year by Hobby Lobby, the company raised its wages for hourly employees in April for the eighth straight year. Full-time employees now earn at least $15.35 an hour and part-time workers earn at least $10.23 an hour.

Hobby Lobby plans to open 50 new stores this year, the company said.

Hobby Lobby is included in Forbes’ annual list of America’s largest private companies. All Hobby Lobby stores are closed on Sunday because of the owners’ Christian beliefs.

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