The Fresh Life Church is negotiating the purchase of the historic Montana Building on First Avenue East with the building’s owners, according to building manager Ron Profitt, and tenants are concerned about what that means for them.

Fresh Life Church declined to comment on negotiations currently underway with the Montana Building’s owner, Gentry Family Limited Liability Partnership, but Profitt said the church approached the owners. “Since they’re leasing a good area of town, they thought it would be a good reason to purchase the building.”

Indeed, Fresh Life already leases two spaces in the Montana Building. The church also owns The Liberty building directly north of the Montana Building as well as The Strand building directly east of City Hall. The Montana Building was erected in 1911, and was owned by Glacier Bank before J. Gentry purchased the building in 2011. The next year, Gentry put the building under ownership of Gentry Family LLP, based in Rifle, Colorado.

Tom Gutschenritter, a clinical social worker and current tenant in the Montana Building, has already found a new space for his office outside the Montana Building. He said he didn’t want to gamble the continuity of his clinical practice on the uncertainty of what’s to become of the Montana Building.

“I don’t feel bad as a business owner saying that people are upset by this,” Gutschenritter said. “It’s a big loss, in a sense.”

Ironically, Gutschenritter isn’t just a tenant of the Montana Building; he’s also a member of the Fresh Life Church. He said he sees Fresh Life’s side of the situation: The church has the money and is free to purchase property. But after he heard so many different things about what is expected to happen to tenants’ leases, he began the relocation process for his own business early.

“I’ve been praying for a new space to move into since I heard they were taking over the building,” he said. Last week, Gutschenritter found a new space in downtown Kalispell. He said he’s lucky that he found one so quickly. He’s already begun reaching out to clients to let them know he’s moving on from the Montana building.

Another issue raised by tenants of the Montana Building about the neighboring church is concern about the security guards seen standing watch during Fresh Life Church events. Cathy Brenneman, a child and family therapist in the building, said the security measures have had an impact on her clients.

“I’ve had several clients comment that they are concerned about entering a building with a security problem. They wonder if this is a bad neighborhood,” Brenneman said.

Brenneman cares deeply about the historic building. She keeps a small gallery of old photographs of the building as it has shifted operations since it was built over 100 years ago. She said her main concern is how the next chapter of the Montana Building will be written in history. She said she hopes it doesn’t just become “an exclusive building for an exclusive group of people.”

Profitt said the sale is still in negotiations between the Gentry Family and Fresh Life, but he doesn’t expect current Montana Building tenants should be concerned about the future of their lease.

“We assured them that Fresh Life basically communicated with us that they wanted to keep everyone on board if the deal goes through,” Profitt said.

Profitt also said that through his communications with the church, it is his understanding that Fresh Life has no plans to remodel the building or change its historic architecture. He did note, though, that the owner initially was not interested in the proposal.

“He wasn’t wanting to sell it, but they kept on bugging him and he’s 84,” Profitt said. “So they’re going to go forward with it, but [Fresh Life Church directors] still have to get financing on that.”

Other tenants called the Daily Inter Lake with concerns over the loss to the city’s tax base. In 2015, the Montana Building, which is 14,000 square feet, was appraised at $785,700. The land was appraised for $72,300.

As a nonprofit organization, Fresh Life Church doesn’t pay taxes on its two locations in downtown Kalispell. City Finance Director Rick Wills said the city would lose about $3,000 a year in property taxes if Fresh Life took over the Montana Building, but would still receive $2,500 for assessments on street lights and garbage, as well as water and sewer fees.

“The city is the least of the problem,” Wills said. “The school is going to lose more.”

According to Wills, Gentry Family LLP paid $6,952 in school taxes last year.

Gwen Anderson, business director for Kalispell Public Schools, said total 2015 tax revenue for the school district was more than $18 million, “so it’s probably not a huge concern for us.”

In addition to the city and schools, Gentry Family LLP paid Flathead County $3,724 in taxes last year.

Church officials have not been available to answer questions about the status of negotiations or plans for the building, nor about the security precautions taken at church events.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.