Growing with the region

Jamestown plays up its role as a regional hub

BY KRIS BEVILL

Since building the world’s largest buffalo statue in 1959, Jamestown, N D , has been known largely as “The Buffalo City,” but recent activities are setting the course for this central North Dakota community of about 15,000 people to reposition itself as an up-and-coming hub for entertainment, outdoors activities and innovative industrial business

Earlier this year, the Buffalo City Tourism Foundation launched a rebranding campaign aimed at expanding the city’s image to include the plentiful outdoor recreational opportunities surrounding Jamestown as well as its status as a regional hub in addition to its already well-known buffalo-based attractions, including the National Buffalo Museum and resident buffalo herd containing three rare albino buffalos Searle Swedlund, executive director of BCTF, says the “Discover Jamestown” campaign includes three distinct profiles buffalo, the outdoors, and its status as a regional hub and represents the community’s pride in everything it has to offer.

The outdoors aspect of the campaign will emphasize the many camping, hunting, fishing birding and other outdoor activities available in the area immediately surrounding Jamestown, includ- ing at nearby Jamestown Reservoir and Pipestem Dam and Lake Other unique outdoors activities include an annual weeklong wagon train which offers a glimpse back to pioneer life for participants.

Regional Hub

Jamestown is a regional hub for communities within a 60-mile-radius and Swedlund plans to focus some of the tourism campaign’s efforts on highlighting opportunities for entertainment and leisure, such as the Jamestown Arts Center, that might not yet be as well-known as they should. “The partners in this community are just wonderful,” he says “All of them are small organizations with finite budgets so thinking of ways that we all can partner together and get the message farther out and deeper into the communities in the surrounding area is really our charge for the coming year. ”

The Jamestown Regional Airport is doing its part to boost the city’s role as a regional hub Since regaining commercial jet service in June, the airport has set record enplanement numbers by “playing some aggressive offense,” according to airport manager Matthew Leitner July was the airport’s busiest month since 1978 652 passengers boarded

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SkyWest Airlines’ planes at the airport that month, up 164 percent over July 2013.

Leitner says passengers are arriving from as far away as Aberdeen, S D , 100 miles south of Jamestown, to utilize the airport. He believes the increased interest is due to competitive fares compared to the nearest larger airports in Fargo and Bismarck, N.D., as well as unique perks like free parking and free coffee Round-trip flights are offered to Denver

11 times every week, and the morning and afternoon flight times are convenient for travelers, he says Also, SkyWest operates in partnership with United Airlines, so travelers have access to United’s perks.

Growing Business

Connie Ova, CEO of Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp , says Jamestown is experiencing a “fast-paced” period of construction as housing, hotels, retail and industrial businesses are being built to accommodate growing demand locally and regionally. Site work has begun on a Menard’s store, which Ova says is expected to open next

July. A large hotel is also in the site work stage and the University of Jamestown has remodeled in anticipation of increased enrollment, she says The JSDC is also finalizing a project which, with help from the Bank of North Dakota, would incentivize the development of new housing units “We’re definitely feeling the growth and glad to have it,” she says.

The city’s current largest employer is UTC Aerospace systems, one of the world’s suppliers of advanced aerospace and defense products. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., the company has 150 sites throughout 26 countries The Jamestown facility, in business since 1970, employs 475 people and produces cargo handling systems for wide-body aircraft, including the Boeing 747 Health care is also a major employer in Jamestown. The Jamestown Regional Medical Center currently employs about 350 people The organization completed a major expansion in 2011, relocating the Jamestown Hospital from the city’s downtown to a multitenant hospital/clinic facility located along Interstate 94 and Highway 281 JRMC remains an independent health care organization though it has partnered with other health care providers to provide its patients with an electronic medical records platform In 2013, Essentia Health opened a clinic on the medical campus K C DeBoer joined JRMC earlier this year as CEO and president and says the new campus will enable the organization to grow and expand its services to meet the community’s needs in the future

The Spiritwood Energy Park, located about 10 miles east of Jamestown near Interstate 94, will soon be home to the Dakota Spirit AgEnergy ethanol plant, a 65 million gallon per year corn ethanol plant. Construction began on the plant last December and is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2015, according to Jeff Zueger, chief operating officer of Midwest Ag Energy, which owns the facility Zueger says construction is on schedule and currently in full swing on the $155 million project, which is extensive and includes the construction of a roadway, 29,000 feet of rail and water projects in addition to the plant construction When complete, the plant will utilize steam from Great River Energy’s nearby Spiritwood Station as a power source The ethanol plant is expected to employ 38 people.

Zueger says the plant will not be ready to purchase corn from area farmers this harvest, but he is looking forward to working with producers in the area and has received positive feedback from potential suppliers “We’ve had a great welcome out into the area, ” he says

Ova expects the manufacturing and industrial sectors will continue to be leading industries for Jamestown into the future She says the much-anticipated CHS fertilizer plant is still on the table, as is a possible propane transload facility at the Spiritwood Energy Park The JSDC also has space available at the I-94 Business Park, located at the junction of I-94 and Highway 281.

Workers are in high demand in the Jamestown area, as they are throughout the region, but Ova says if employers are competitive, labor is available “If you have good people and you pay them well and treat them well, that’s basically the answer to the employee shortage.” PB

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

When you ’ re a real estate developer considering a potential project, the first factor you consider is location When you ’ re a real estate developer in the Bakken, the second factor you consider is electricity. Demand continues to outpace availability for nearly ever ything in the rapidly growing oil and gas region of North Dakota, including electricity for developments that could otherwise be built outside any number of city limits.

“You can only build if you ’ ve got utilities,” says Robert Gavin, CEO of North Dakota Developments, a subsidiary of UK-based real estate investment firm Property Horizons. He points out that while developers can, and do, build roads and install infrastructure including sewer and water lines, access to power is only possible through utilities. And while utility companies are doing what they can to power up sites, the backlog of projects sometimes results in delays that ultimately kill the project “We can’t force the power companies to bring us power any faster than what’s in their timeline and if they get delayed there’s nothing we can really do to speed them up, ” he says

Gavin knows the implications of lagging electrical access from experience. Two North Dakota development projects in New Town and Williston were delayed because of it and ultimately relocated to properties that already had access to utilities.

Jay Moore, project developer at Minneapolis-based Oppidan Investment Co , says his company worked with utilities to bring electricity, gas and other essential services to its initial developments in Stanley and Watford City and had a great experience working with the city and power cooperatives, but he agrees that access to utilities is a serious consideration for Bakken developers.

“Everyone is swamped out there,” he says. “One thing we do is work closely with those utility companies and make sure we can get services there, otherwise it is an issue Sometimes you have to walk away because you can’t get what you need ”

But despite lagging infrastructure in rural areas, developers continue to go vertical on projects throughout the region and are finding a growing number of outside investors eager to participate in the local real estate market

North Dakota Developments is currently constructing a 408-suite workforce housing unit in Parshall, N.D. The Transhudson Hotel Parshall is set on 33 acres of prime real estate which will eventually also include an RV park, retail and travel plaza, according to Gavin He estimates the entire project could cost up to $100 million and says it will be funded entirely by international investors, as was the firm’s initial Bakken project an approximately $70 million workforce housing project near Watford City known as the Great American Lodge In early August, he said his company was also nearing closure on a very large residential project in Williston and was continuing to explore additional options in the area

According to Gavin, international investors are becoming more aware of the Bakken play’s longevity and, therefore, interest in investing in those properties has increased noticeably in the last two years In addition to security, the potential lucrative return on investment is most certainly a draw for investors Property Horizons is assuring its Parshall project investors net yields of 17 5 percent per year Gavin says typical real estate investments outside the U.S. experience 5 to 10 percent net yields Investments in areas outside of the Bakken in the U S typically see net yields up to 14 percent

Oppidan announced recently the sale of the last two properties developed as part of its initial Bakken development plan Construction of the Pheasant Ridge II apartment building in Watford City and the Cash Wise grocery store were completed in May. The 42-unit apartment building was fully occupied upon its sale.

“Oppidan has now successfully sold four apartment buildings and four retail centers throughout the Bakken region, which, I believe, demonstrates the economic stability and financial viability of the region,” Oppidan President Joe Ryan said in a statement “Investors are realizing the potential for growth in the region.”

All eight of Oppidan’s apartment and retail properties were sold to investment firms located in New York, Arizona, Canada and Singapore Moore says the Bakken real estate market continues to attract growing interest from around the world A 77-unit apartment building in New Town being developed by Oppidan isn’t expected to be complete by Jan 1, but the company has already received inquiries from potential buyers and Moore anticipates another quick sale. The company is also in the process of developing a number of other projects, including a 120-acre industrial park in Stanley, industrial facilities for clients including General Electric, retail in Watford City, Tioga and Stanley and residential in Williston

Increased investor interest has brought with it a number of additional developers to the region, but Moore doesn’t see it as a negative. Instead, he insists that the competition will only help promote development in an area of the country that desperately needs it, and Oppidan is determined to continue playing a role.

“Global invest ment in that communit y is only going to help w ith the prog ress of real estate,” he says “We’re not going anyw here.” PB

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

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