The Missoula Mercantile Warehouse Building was constructed between 1880 and 1900. The walls are made of brick masonry, the floor and roof are framed with wood. Archaic timber trusses span 50 ft. and support the roof structure in one area of the building. Over the years the structure has served in many different roles, from its original warehouse function for supplying wagon trains to a sawmill complete with a stream running through the basement. It also housed the Front Street Theatre and will now be home to the Trailhead, an outdoor gear supplier based in Missoula. Our role in the project was the complete structural upgrade of the existing building to support the new loads of a retail space. In addition, we designed upgrades to support the lateral loads of the Missoula region.

The existing building was a 21,000 square foot office building originally built in the 1910’s with 18-inch thick brick walls and wood floor and roof framing. About 35% of the existing building was added during the 1950’s with cast-in-place concrete frames supporting concrete floors and a concrete roof. Today’s addition adds approximately 7,500 square feet including more office space, a loading dock, and a 34-foot tall entrance lobby. The project is cost-driven with an aesthetic goal to match the existing building. Both the existing building and the addition are two stories tall with a full-height basement.

Renovation work and addition to an historic unreinforced two-story masonry building. Work included addition of an exterior elevator tower constructed of light gauge metal framing on a concrete foundation. Interior renovations included removal of existing bearing walls to be replaced with steel beams. Also included in the renovation work were two new wood framed mezzanine levels. Minor concrete foundation modifications were made to support new columns. Steel seismic bracing was installed to meet requirements of UBC seismic zone 3.