The owners of the Civic Square building are in the ongoing stages of revamping the old building, adding tenants and breathing life into a building that was at one point supposed to be torn down.

Owners Chuck Huber and Loren Galpin are finishing off the third floor for new tenants and for the expansion of a current tenant; the floor will be home to Prudential as well as an expansion for a tenant on the fourth floor and room for another tenant.

The building has undergone some impressive renovations in the past few years; quite the change from the vacant shell that was scheduled for demolition some time ago.

"It's nice to see the charm restored,"said Galpin.

Galpin is also heading the outside facelift of American Bank Center that's putting that blue sheen on downtown Bismarck. The outside remodel of the bank should be complete by Thanksgiving.

Across the street, Starion Financial is building up a glass tower, adding a third floor to the bank and putting in geothermal wells, among other features. That's an additional 6,500 square feet.

"It's to accommodate some growth in our centralized services. We'll be able to put an additional 30 employees into the building,"said Tammi Rust, vice president of marketing, adding that growth will come over an 18-month period.

Officially open

The Family Dollar in Mandan opened in late October and had its ribbon cutting last week. The long-anticipated store was built on property previously owned by BNSF Railway and leased to the elevator that was demolished two years ago.

Leading Development Technology purchased the property in 2007 to build up and lease the space to Family Dollar and O'Reilly Auto Parts, which opened this summer, said Ellen Huber, business development director in Mandan.

The store fits the needs of the community, according to a citizen survey conducted in the spring, Huber said in a news release. Residents selected more retail as the number one need in the community, with general discount stores topping the list.

New building, workers

Accu-Temp Heating &Cooling moved to a newly constructed, 3,700-square-foot building on 1313 Republic St.

The nearly 5-year-old company moved from its building on Sweet Avenue, which was about half the size of the new one, said Dean Bader, partner in the company.

It came out of the simple need for more room, he said.

"We built an office now and we hired a receptionist,"he said. "We needed more room."

The business, which specializes in commercial refrigeration and heating service, has five employees and is in the process of hiring its sixth.

Along the lines of hiring, Olive Garden has hired its general manager and is looking to find and train employees. According to a news release, applicants should apply in person from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The highly-desired Italian eatery chain will open in Bismarck around Nov. 24 for dinner only, then open for normal business hours in December.

(Reach reporter Crystal R. Reid at 250-8261 or crystal.reid@bismarcktribune.com with your business news tips and information.)