A decade-long project aimed at revitalizing the Kalispell downtown core area while providing space for industrial businesses to operate is aiming to put a bookend on the endeavor.  

The Flathead County Economic Development Authority has put its two remaining parcels at the Glacier Rail Park on the market.  

The 44-acre industrial rail campus on the northeast edge of Kalispell opened eight years ago, with the intent to relocate rail-dependent businesses from the city’s downtown area. It was the first step in a two-part series to repurpose BNSF Railway train tracks that cut through downtown Kalispell into a recreational walking path now known as the Parkline Trail.  

The Flathead County Economic Development Authority still owns about 72% of the industrial park, said Executive Director Kirk Zander, including Rail Park Drive, a 10.91-acre lot leased to CHS Mountain West Co-Op and the 16.1-acre railroad common area.  

Ownership of Rail Park Drive, a 4.2-acre artery that runs along the north side of the rail park, is being transferred to the city of Kalispell. The other two lots were approved for sale by the economic authority board on May 20, following a public hearing on May 4. Zander said the public hearing had no attendees. 

Zander said it’s time to close this chapter and focus on paying off the entity’s remaining $5.7 million debt to the county. The economic authority entered an $8 million three-way agreement with Flathead County and CHS Mountain Co-Op in May 2018 to support CHS Mountain’s relocation to Glacier Rail Park.  

The economic development authority, the city and Montana West Economic Development secured a $10 million federal TIGER grant in 2015 to bring the project to fruition.  

The first phase of the project turned a gravel pit into the industrial park before relocating businesses there. That enabled the second phase, which was the replacement of the railroad tracks running through the city with the 1.6-mile Parkline Trail connecting Meridian Road to Woodland Park. The trail was completed in 2022. 

In completing the sales, the economic development authority is looking to free up its resources so it can pursue its next project, which hasn’t been determined yet. Board member Rob Driscoll pointed to Flathead County’s rapid population growth and increasing demands for economic development as major factors in the decision. 

“We don’t need to be a property owner at this time,” Driscoll said. 

TWO PRIVATE manufacturing businesses own the other three lots in the industrial rail park.  

Northwest Drywall and Roofing, the second company to move into Glacier Rail Park, has operated there since 2019. CHS Mountain Co-Op, the park’s first tenant, leases its land on one of the lots owned by the county economic development authority. Zander said the lease agreement with CHS Mountain will be incorporated into the lot’s sale contract.  

One lot originally purchased by Northern Plastics in 2021 was split into two parcels and sold to the owners of Ex-Guard, an Iowa-based company that manufactures guards for semi-trucks and vans. Ex-Guard CEO Ryan Holt said the Flathead County Economic Development Authority encouraged his company to look at the property in 2024.  

Existing infrastructure at the rail park enticed the manufacturing business, Holt said, since it was already connected to city services. His company bought the first lot in 2025 and applied for a $1.8 million building permit through the city of Kalispell that year. The second adjacent lot was purchased in March, he said.  

The Ex-Guard facility completed construction earlier this year and began manufacturing operations in April. Holt said he’ll consider using the railway for exports and imports later down the road.  

Report for America Reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at 406-758-4439 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.