Changing the face of Arlee

ARLEE — Dave Wolverton has a vision for Arlee — and it’s not the one that you currently see when you pass through the town, he makes clear.
“The majority of people going by wouldn’t know there are any nice businesses here,” he said, because the external appearances are dilapidated.
“A nice exterior says you have something nice on the inside,” he emphasized, explaining that you can’t attract customers with a plain brown box.
So Wolverton is beautifying the corner of Highway 93 and Powwow Road, planning a Spanish style stucco building on the site.
The area has traditionally been used to host farm stands in the growing season, and craft vendors during the annual Arlee Powwow.
Wolverton’s parents owned the property, but it was his wife’s vision that sparked the redevelopment.
Originally form Spain, she wanted to bring some of that European flavor to her adopted home.
“She always had dreams of a little coffee stand,” he said.
But Wolverton’s dreams have changed.
His wife was killed in a collision with a cement truck five years ago, said his friend and neighbor Nick Tomlanovich.
And Wolverton is being practical.
“We have several coffee stands in town,” he said. Arlee certainly has no need for a big-box store, either, he said.
Wolverton sees big retail outlets as ordinary, and believes, as far as business goes, “If you’re ordinary, you’re dead.” And he doesn’t feel Arlee is dead — despite present appearances.
What he wants to do, he said, is serve Arlee, and better the community by improving its visual appeal. So he started with the vacant lot, and with a fence.
“We’re kind of doing it backwards,” said Tomlanovich. “Most people build a building first.”
Instead, the men hired Roger Williams of Saint Ignatius to handcraft the wrought iron fence that now surrounds the property. Then they built a gazebo, and landscaped it with blooming roses.
Tomlanovich, who was “talked out of retirement” by Wolverton and his vision, was standing in the deep foundation of a “retail dry goods” type building that the men have plans to build Depending on the weather, Tomlanovich said, “we could start building next week.”
Once they start, the men estimate the construction will take only six to eight weeks.
The men are building long-term retail space using local contractor Chad Bustad. Bustad moved to the area from Arizona, and has years of experience in Spanish style architecture, Tomlanovich said. Their building, though, will be “not real Spanish, but kind of tailored that way.”
It’s imperitave to Wolverton to offer something aesthetically pleasing to the community, and future customers.
What will occupy the new retail space is still unknown.
“Arlee doesn’t need anything,” Wolverton said, “when you’re only twenty minutes from North Reserve.”
North Reserve, he added, has the “third largest conglomeration of box stores between Minneapolis and Seattle.”
And instead of a commercial retail strip of its own, “Arlee needs to be a destination.”
Wolverton envisions a community like Bigfork, unique in its offerings, calling out to be visited on weekends. He wants to “pull the Missoula population up as a client base,” and use Bigfork as a model, but not a blueprint.
So he considers what Arlee can offer.
“The cherry people,” he said, “serve the purpose of just getting people to stop.” That’s a first step.
As any businessman knows, you need to get people in the door.
Wolverton believes he can help all the businesses in the community by stopping traffic, and having people look around.
“Coming from Missoula, this is one of the first things one encounters,” he said. So the image his new venture portrays has to be matched by the substance inside.
“There’s lots of ordinary in Missoula.” Arlee, instead, needs to allure.
One thing visitors won’t encounter is fast food.
“Absolutely no restaurants,” Wolverton stated.
Whatever the ultimate tenant is, it will be quality.
“You’ve got to obliterate the image (of blight) and recreate something,” he said. “You’ve got to make it look nice.”