By CLAYTON PARK

Dexter & Chaney, a fast-growing software company that has been making its home in "Little Old Lake City" since 1991, has outgrown its current building and is in the process of selling it, said Mark Dexter, a co-owner of the company.

The good news for locals is that Dexter & Chaney will still remain very much a product of Lake City. The company has agreed to purchase the Weight Watchers building located at 9700 Lake City Way NE, which it plans to move into either this August or September.

"It's a little bigger with more potential for expansion," said Dexter, noting that the 12,000-square-foot Weight Watchers building sits on a two-acre lot.

When Dexter and his partner John Chaney moved their then-fledgling company into its current building at 3200 NE 125th, little did they dream that they would outgrow it so soon. "When we moved in, we had 16 employees and occupied a third of the building," said Dexter. The company now has 52 workers and occupies 80 percent of the 11,000-square-foot building. With more growth expected, Dexter and his partner had no choice but to begin searching for a new, larger site.

"We were pretty lucky" in finding the Weight Watchers building, said Dexter. "Our first choice was to stay as close to the current building as possible."

Dexter added that Weight Watchers continues to occupy the building while it conducts a search for a new site.

The current Dexter & Chaney Building, which is located in the heart of the Lake City business district, has been sold to the Seattle Mennonite Church, said Dexter.

He said the church, which is located next door, wanted the space for expansion.