Jumpstarting downtown Williston

Women-led development firm goes big with $15M multi-use project in downtown Boomtown

BY KRIS BEVILL

Nancy Kapp heard the term “wing walker” once in reference to risk takers and thought it was an apt description for herself. When she launched her Chicago-based real estate development firm, The Renaissance Companies, in 1985 she had no money, but she had a willingness to work hard and take necessary risks, and a partner with the monetary support to back it up. She has since succeeded many times in her goal of improving neighborhoods through infill developments that meet communities’ needs and provide new life to underutilized properties.

Kapp, whose daughter joined the company in 1989 and now works alongside her on the executive team, makes affordable housing a priority of her developments, which is what drew her to Williston, N.D. In September, the company broke ground on a $15 million four-story, multi-use project in downtown Williston which will include 30 apartments — 15 of them designated for essential workers — retail/restaurant and office space, heated parking and a luxurious rooftop terrace complete with fire pits for users to fully enjoy North Dakota’s warm weather nights. The project was initially proposed as a seven-story building with twice as many apartments, but construction costs in the Bakken region dictated a smaller project, and therefore fewer affordable housing units. “I wish I could have done more,” Kapp says. “Unfortunately, the cost of construction and the lack of gap financing makes it very difficult to do affordable housing, which is why there’s not much out there.”

Grand Forks, N.D.-based Community Contractors Inc. is the general contractor for the project. Several other local companies, including JLG Architects, Williston-based Ames Engineering, Blackrock Contracting and Development and D&R Construction have also been involved in the project. Ruann Deschene, project manager and company officer for Community Contractors, says her company was able to bid on budget and keep the project on track in the Bakken’s challenging construction environment because it always includes the construction team in pre-construction meetings and incorporates value engineering during subcontractor bidding at all phases. The company has also been fortunate to maintain a steady labor force and expects to complete the project on schedule this September.

Almost equally important to Kapp’s goal of providing affordable housing is to spur the revitalization of the communities she works in, in this case downtown Williston. She recognized “what could be” when she saw the site at 2nd and Main Street, which at the time was a city parking lot, but she credits city leaders for their forward thinking and support to move the project forward. “They were already forward-thinking to the extent of planning a streetscape, they hired someone to do a city plan, they did a parking study,” she says. “They’d been pretty progressive and it’s been amazing to me that they’ve been able to do as much as they have done under the onslaught going on.”

That onslaught of development might ease now that oil prices have dropped, but Kapp is confident that her project will not be affected, noting its superb location, unique offerings and Williston’s population growth. She’s also already seen signs of redevelopment throughout downtown, including new businesses and an active downtown association, which is just what she was hoping for. “Our building is the jumpstart, if you will, which is why the city was supportive of it,” she says. “It’s an exciting story. We really love it out there — the potential and trying to make a difference.” PB

Kris Bevill Editor, Prairie Business 701-306-8561, kbevill@prairiebizmag.com