New construction, remodels in Malta

From a brand-new building at a brand-new location, to a new building on a current site, and a remodel of a historic building, there is no shortage of construction taking place in Malta these days.

Lloyd's Auto is having a new shop built on the corner of Central Ave. and S. 2nd St. East near Malta City Hall; Ezzie's Wholesale's new building is going up east of the current building, and Barb and Parker Heinlein's building on Malta's Central Avenue - originally the Bell Telephone Building - is in the process of getting an exterior makeover to help beautify the historic structure.

Lloyd's Auto

Lloyd Baeth took over the local Napa Auto Parts store on Malta's 1st Avenue East in February of 2014 and Baeth said the old building - built in 1928 - has a total of 12 trusses, not counting the end-walls, and said that seven of them have been broken.

"Two of them broke about 30 years ago and they are in the backend of the building," Baeth said.

He explained the trusses are shaped like bowstrings - straight on the bottom and curved on the top - and the first two which broke all those years ago snapped on the bottom, so they were supported by pillars.

"The others have broken along the curve and they are not in line and twisted," he said. "So now, the roof is settling on the top of the ceiling. Some of (the trusses) were broken last year with the heavy snow. The building is on its way to falling down. We decided to buy a new building when we found out how much it would cost to put a roof on a 90-year-old building."

Baeth purchased the land next to Malta City Hall and excavation and construction started about six weeks ago, the first bits of concrete being poured on the site two weeks ago. Baeth said the new building - which will be a 60x100 square foot structure - should be completed around Christmas time and the store's inventory should all be moved, and the new store should be open, after the New Year.

"Weather and conditions permitting," Baeth said.

Of all the new bells and whistles at the new Lloyd's Auto location, Baeth said he is most looking forward to having air conditioning in the store, a luxury he was without in the 1st Avenue location. Of the things he will miss about the location, Baeth mentioned the original hardwood floors (he would love to sell the 1,000 square feet of flooring to someone and will listen to reasonable offers.) Baeth said that the old building will need to be knocked down sooner or later because of safety concerns.

Ezzie's Wholesale

In its day, the current Ezzie's Wholesale store and office space have seen a few different inclinations including a pool hall and Mexican restaurant, but unfortunately, the structure's best days are behind it.

Starting in January, when Bill Myers took over ownership of the business, it was decided that Ezzie's had outgrown the current building and it was time for a new one.

"We are out of room and we looked at adding on," Myers said.

Ultimately, the challenge of adding on to the new building, the cost associated with such work, and trying to continue to work around the construction for the day-to-day dealing of the business was too much to try and tackle and the new building was put on the front burner. The new building will be just shy of 10,000 square feet and Myers said of all the new things a new structure provides, he is very excited about the amount of new floor space the building will allow.

"And hopefully no birds and bats like we have in this building," he joked. "Hopefully we don't take them to the new building."

The outside of the building is nearly complete, and the inside is ready for the electrical work to start. Myers said construction on the location began in late July and should be completely ready to move in by January.

"But that depends on the weather because I am not moving if the winter is like last January and February," he said. "It's going to take a long time to get all the stuff moved over there and then we have to transfer all the fuel from here to there, so every so often our pumps will be down. But it will all be worth it."

Ezzie's currently employs 15 people and Myers said that there will be a grand opening in the spring. Myers also said that his wife's new business venture, Lettuce Eat, in the old Packy's building, has also undergone a large amount of new construction inside the building and invited everyone in to see it.

"It's pretty amazing inside," Myers said. "As for Ezzie's, it's just business as usual and the new building is something we had to do."

Barb and Parker's Building (soon to be the "Heinlein & Heinlein Building").

Barb and Parker Heinlein bought the old Bell Telephone building in 2006 and since then, the inside has been gutted and redone as the couple uses the space for their writing adventures (Barb, a New York Times Bestselling Author, has published 96 books, under pen name B.J. Daniels, and Parker is the outdoor columnist for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and this newspaper.) Though the inside of the building has received much needed TLC, the outside had gone without, for the most part, until recently.

"It just looked really bad," Barb said last week. "This building was built in 1915 and we have redone the entire inside but not much outside. We saw this building and loved the size and bought it. It has been ideal as an office...and now for all my quilting stuff."

Barb said that the outside of the walls was becoming bowed and the stucco work was falling off. Construction work on the outside of the structure started about a month ago and is nearly complete (a drive down Central Avenue and past the building on most days, even on the weekends, motorist will likely spot the Brett Knoke Construction crew working feverishly, trying to beat winter to its punch...often times into darkness, working under the glow of truck headlights.)

The building boasts two stories - the lower floor is home to many copies of Barb's books - and has also had a bathroom added since 2006, making two total for the building. Barb said the completion of the outside construction depends on the weather and nothing is set in stone. Stucco work is being done on all four walls of the building and features a burnt orange color, playing off the color-scheme of the bricks on the front of the building. Soon to be added will be a fancy new sign to sit on the building's Central Avenue entrance which will read "Heinlein & Heinlein Building."

"This building was built to last," Barb said. "It has been a flower shop, and church and so many other things. It is like a bunker and I love writing here."

Barb's latest writing efforts resulted in the book entitled Wrangler's Rescue (The Montana Cahills #7) which was released to the public on November 19 and can be purchased at the Phillips County Museum.