Jase Richter lines up insulating foam to a pillar at the Les Schwab location along Adams Ave. on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. 

LA GRANDE — Extensive construction and renovations are underway at Les Schwab, which remains open for car servicing at 2306 Adams Ave., La Grande.

Phase one, which includes replacing service bays, repaving the parking lot and adding light posts, is estimated to be completed by the end of August, according to Bo Stroud, project manager with LJH Construction.

Even with the extensive work, the tire dealer and repair shop has remained open throughout the construction and will continue to serve customers during both phases of the project.

“It’s made everything logistically more difficult, but our customer base has been very understanding,” Lee Stebar, manager of the La Grande Les Schwab Tire Center, said. “It keeps us excited and wanting to continue providing world class service to our customers.”

The new service bays will have more equipment on hand, such as new air compression drops, which is only one way the construction will improve wait times and service quality, according to Stebar.

“Our main focus is going to be to lessen wait time,” he said. “We want to be able to get people in the store, give them the service that Les Schwab is famous for, and get them back to their day as soon as possible.”

Additionally, the light posts in the parking lot will provide a more comfortable environment for customers, particularly in the winter months, Stebar said.

Phase two, which will begin in mid-August and finish by late fall, will involve remodeling the building’s interior and repainting the exterior and interior.

“It’s going to have new lights, an all new showroom, upgraded bathrooms, new tile, just everything,” Stroud said. “It’s gonna look really nice inside.”

There have been several delays with material shortages and a lack of original blueprints for the building, according to Stroud.

“They had no original prints on the building,” he said. “This whole front area has been completely redesigned by me and the engineers and architects.”

Additionally, crews found old walls and a floor underneath the old service bays when digging up the site.

While the second phase is being completed, the customer service and administrative offices will temporarily move to a mobile office space outside.

Along with construction, the company has hired new employees to reduce wait times.

“We’ve hired multiple new employees, five in the last three months with the idea of just trying to do everything we can to keep our customers happy and to keep them on the road with as little downtime as possible,” Stebar said.