Martel selected for Muldown project

Martel Construction will build the new Muldown Elementary School.

The Whitefish School Board on April 10 unanimously approved a committee recommendation for Martel as the project’s general contractor/construction manager.

Voters last October approved a $26.5 million bond to construct a new elementary school and demolish portions of the existing school building.

Superintendent Heather Davis Schmidt said the interview process was rigorous and involved some tough decisions, but in the end Martel stood out as the best choice.

“It was a very difficult process. This was probably one of the most difficult processes that I’ve ever been through in terms of the quality of the contractors that we had available. And that’s a good problem to have,” Davis Schmidt said.

“Ultimately Martel Construction came out with the highest score in the interview process,” she added.

Davis Schmidt said seven contractors responded to the district’s request for qualifications and six submitted proposals. The committee narrowed the choices down to three finalists before selecting Martel.

Martel Construction has offices in Bigfork, Bozeman and Missoula. A contract is still set to be negotiated for the Muldown project.

The new Muldown is part of a string of recent big projects by Martel.

They’ve been working on Whitefish Schools new Center for Sustainability and Entrepreneurship since August of last year, which is set to open on Saturday.

Martel also built the new Whitefish City Hall, which opened last May, as well as the expansion to the Wave in 2014.

Davis Schmidt said Martel will provide daily reports to Dow Powell, the owner’s representative for the school, on construction progress, as well as hold weekly meetings with Powell and the district to keep everything running smoothly during the construction process.

The school district is still in the design phase of the project working with its architect L’Heureux, Page and Werner. Plans are proposed to include a new school, situated at the corner of East Seventh Street and Pine Avenue, at about 84,000-square-feet including a new gym.

First constructed in 1966 with major renovations in 1992, the current Muldown school is now the largest elementary school in the state.

The 50-year-old building suffers a number of infrastructure issues, including a failing heating system and a roof that wasn’t designed to handle Whitefish’s snow load. In addition the school has faced overcrowding as enrollment has grown to about 700 students in the K-4 school.