The Crossroads development to be built at high-visibility site in Fargo New office and commercial complex planned near Interstates 29 and 94

By Andrew Weeks

Land that sits at the crossroads of Interstates 29 and 94 in Fargo will see a drastic transformation over the next few years as it turns into a corporate park, aptly named The Crossroads. Located on more than 50 acres at the southwest corner of the two interstates, The Crossroads will include a mix of office, finance, education, medical, technology and retail space.

The project is under development by North Dakota Rep. Rick Berg of the Berg Group and Tim McShane of Minneapolis-basedMcShane Development.

Berg said he’s had his eye on the property for about 30 years, knowing that the location, when developed, would be prime real estate for companies because of its high visibility.

“It’s the only place in North Dakota where two interstate systems cross and everything is developed all around it,” he said.

Multiple partnerships, including with the city of Fargo, have brought Berg’s 30-year ambition to this point. Formerly, pieces of the land had different owners.

“We’ve brought the two main parcels together under one ownership so we could create a master plan, which really wasn’t able to happen before now,” he said.

Berg said there will be the potential to build 500,000 square-feet of office space on the property. Preliminary plans depict multiple buildings, some which could have substantial space of 100,000 square feet.

McShane, originally from Fargo and who remembers shooting his BB gun in the empty fields when he was young, said he is excited about what the project could mean not only for businesses who take up space there but for the community. He said it is prime real estate to attract companies from outside the region because they would receive great exposure.

“I think for the community, it’s the epicenter, the front door,” he said. “It’s an excellent location for what I’ll call a commercial campus. … But I think in addition, what it can do for the Fargo community is, we’re embarking on an outreach program to reach companies beyond Fargo-Morehead, beyond North Dakota.”

This year will see infrastructure development take place at the site, with buildings most likely starting to be constructed in 2023, McShane said. There also will be the chance to lease buildings if a company doesn’t want to build.

Andy Westby, president and commercial broker at Goldmark Commercial Real Estate, which is selling the lots and doing branding for the project, said lots will be available later this year.

“I’m an optimist,” Berg said about the chance of seeing buildings begin construction later this year, though because of the time it takes for permitting, design, et all, it likely would not be until sometime next year before construction starts. McShane said he sees that happening by summer 2023.

The wait is OK, since the big hurdles have been crossed. And it is the location the group is most excited about.

“Anybody who is looking for long-term prominence, there’s no better spot,” McShane said. “No better spot.”

“Instant name recognition and visibility, it’s really hard to put a price on that but it’s extremely valuable,” Westby said.

He said he saw this firsthand when his own company gained greater name recognition after moving to a high visibility location along I-94 at 25th St. S.

The intersection at The Crossroads, according to the information sent from the partners, has the highest traffic counts in North Dakota, with McShane noting that more than 71,000 vehicles per day travel that stretch of I-94. “Add that to the over 58,000 vehicles per day on I-29 here and it just makes sense for a business hub to live at the intersection,” he said.

3D models have been created to depict what the complex will look like when complete. (See accompanying images.)

“It illustrates our best intentions and what we believe the site could look like. It’s going to show some very large buildings, it’s going to show some smaller buildings,” Westby said.

“The key thing is, we have a lot of flexibility on this site to accommodate a range of uses,” Westby said. “We’re excited about the opportunity to provide this type of exposure to businesses, because there is just very little supply of land facing the interstates until you get on the far extremes. … When you talk about the magnitude and the volume for traffic in this location, this is about it for putting your name in that type of central location and high visibility area.”

Berg said: “I think, really, what I get excited about is the number of great businesses we have here in our area and giving them the presence and the visibility in a site like this. I think it could be really powerful for recruiting employees and the growth of their business.”