The Very First Fargo-Moorhead Urban Life Blog

Back from Vacation - Also, new Fargo bloggers!!

2006-08-16T22:15:00.000-05:00

I recently got back to Fargo a couple days ago from vacationing in Yellowstone. I drove around a little bit once I got back. It's weird that I've only been gone for 8 days, but I noticed a lot of changes. First of all, HALLELUJAH, HALLELUJAH, HALLELUJAH, there is FINALLY construction equipment excavating the ground on the site of Urban Plains!!! That was DEFINITELY a good sight to see. West Pointe Centre and Liberty Square II look almost finished. And I also noticed, the guy who designed the new condos on the corner of South University and 32nd probably jacks off to pictures of mansard roofs. Drive by there and you'll see what I mean. There's also a new office building being built on the corner of South University and... I wanna say about 26th. I didn't get a chance to see what's going on at that site west of Pioneer Center on 13th and 9th E. It looks like the new middle school on 13th and 17th is ready for students to start taking classes there.

I also came up with an idea for a type of new development in downtown Fargo called "The Front". The whole thing can be seen here. I'm poster "SmileyBoy" over at SSP.

Also, NanoBison, another Fargo poster on the SSP forum, has started his own Fargo blog, right here. It's all about what F-M might look like 44 years from now in the year 2050. The F-M urban planning blogosphere is getting bigger!!

I've decided to have the specific purpose of this blog to be urban development news based on personal observations. If an F-M urban planning news story is really big and huge in stature in the future, I will put it on here. Otherwise, posts on here will be based on observations from around the city. It's my own little niche, along with Nano's blog niche of futuristic planning. Hopefully more urban planning niche blogs in the F-M blogosphere will follow.

Good news and bad news about Holiday Center in Moorhead

2006-08-01T23:13:00.000-05:00

Acoording to this Forum article, the construction of the new food court building space at Holiday Center in Moorhead is going slower than expected. The good news is that Jimmy John's Sandwiches will be one of the new tenants along with Qdoba and Starbucks. Jimmy John's will open in November in a currently undisclosed space. Qdoba and Starbucks will open at the food court in October. FINALLY Fargo-Moorhead will have a Jimmy John's franchise after what was for me personally, a few years of waiting.

The development site is still faltering though, as plans for a 100,000 square-foot big box store still haven't materialized. Although the article does mention that four different chains have expressed interest. I remember a Best Buy being at the old Holiday Mall at that site when I was a little kid. Maybe Best Buy could look at opening up a Moorhead store on that big-box site.

I still think that in order for that site to succeed, they will need to build that long-planned big-box, and also fill up at least 75 percent of the strip mall area. This could be a huge central retail centre for Moorhead (conveniently located next to the Interstate) if the developers and city leaders can start actually working on making that place better.

At least with the news of a Jimmy John's and possible action on that big-box, there is some good news to come out of this.

Been working a lot - Not much news

2006-07-25T23:13:00.000-05:00

Hey all, I've been working quite a few hours lately, so a lot of my normal days are filled with work hours. I've still been monitoring the local news and stalking my inside rumour sources for development news. I don't want to start pulling a Maddox on you and stop updating this thing (even though I probably don't have to worry, because Maddox gets about 1 trillion times the hits that my pathetic little blog gets). I'm not what you call a "typical" blogger. (A guy who's usually an acne-infested 35 year-old virgin who lives in his mother's basement.) I'm a busy guy with a busy life. Which means I don't update this thing daily or hourly like some people do. Plus, this usually being a downtime of the year for development info (stuff usually doesn't start picking up again until fall), the news front has been dry.

The only news I have heard lately is a new high-end development (of indeterminent zoning) being built on 25th Street and 23rd Ave. near Ruby Tuesday. I'm currently trying to get more info on that.

Anyway, that's about it. I wish I had more news, but I don't.

Nice downtown story - Surprising new developments

2006-07-13T00:33:00.000-05:00

The Forum has a nice story today about the changing face of downtown and info on the Kaye's Printing Building loft conversions. Apparently the new construction is a parking garage for the building. I don't know if it will be a tiny private one like the one at 16 Broadway, or if it will be a larger public ramp. All I know is that downtown deperately needs MORE parking ramps, and not just dirty, pothole-laden lots. We're going in a good direction.

This next article says that the owner of Newman outdoor Signs wants to build a commercial development along I-29 between 76th and 88th Avenue South!!! I think this might be getting to be a little too much. Fargo's urban development area is already such an oblong shape, and I think more building south along I-29 will just exacerbate the situation. This kind of thing starts to put too much stress on our infrastructure. If they're worried about developing near West Fargo and Horace, why not just merge the three cities together?? Call it "Greater Fargo", or just keep the Fargo name. Political bickering amongst the cities might be a real problem in the future.

Another nice story today tells us about a new church-affiliated senior citizen living complex located in the Sincebaugh Addition on 45th Street and 38th Avenue South just north of Osgood. It's nice and all, but I think the fact that we're seeing a lot of senior citizen living facilities going up tells us that the age demographics of the city might not be as young and vibrant as we once thought them to be. It is new development however, and that's always a good thing for a city trying to make its mark on the Midwest.

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, I'll try to post at least weekly.

New Scheels store and new construction

2006-07-01T17:32:00.000-05:00

Hey all, I was able to go see the new Scheels superstore today, which has its grand opening. And all I can say is that place is P - I - M - P PIMP PIMP PIMP!!! When you walk into the place, the very first thing that greets you is the North Dakota State University athletics Hall of Fame. There stands a huge framed glass wall with lot of national championship trophies from various sports from the DII days. I almost got a tear in my eye looking at it. Also included is a huge timeline of events, and a bunch of old authentic memorabilia. The NDSU apparel section is directly adjacent to the Hall of Fame. Basically, you're bombarded with NDSU Bison "everything" when you walk in, which is good, because there are probably a lot of Sioux fan customers that will shop at that place.:D

More good news is that NDSU apparel takes up the majority of the college apparel displays. I would say it's 65-35 NDSU over UND stuff, which is good, because that seems to be the reversed circumstance at the Grand Forks Scheels. So I figure that the Fargo store should at least have the same dominance of Bison apparel that the GF store has of Sioux apparel. I talked to the college apparel manager, and he told me that it was his job to see that Bison apparel outsells Sioux apparel at the Fargo store, because of the fact that a majority of it is NDSU stuff. The selection of Bison apparel is the largest in the world for a brick-and-mortar store, and will still have more NDSU stuff than the Varsity Mart Bookstore even when it completes its renovations next fall.

Other features of the store include a 90-foot ferris wheel, a huge deli and bakery called Gramma Ginna's that servs Bavarian toasted almonds, fudge varieties (which are REALLY filling), Starbucks coffee, ice cream and deli food. Also included is a huge home decor department. The place is basically a huge department store for all intents and purposes.

The place is ENNORMOUS. Over 190,000 square feet. It also reminds me of one of those little upscale malls in Downtown Minneapolis. When I was walking through the place, I had to keep reminding myself that I was in Fargo, and not somewhere in the Twin Cities, like the MOA. The place is pure class. It's almost like a new mall for Fargo-Moorhead. The only concern I have is that the place might actually take business away from West Acres. I thought to myself if it would've been better if they actually built the place at West Acres. but that area of 45th was destined for something big, so I figured it was all right. The place was jam-packed full of people also.

Anyway, if you're in Fargo and haven't had the chance, go to the new Scheels superstore. That place is AMAZING.

More good news: NEW DOWNTOWN CONSTRUCTION!!!! On the corner of 6th and Broadway between the current Kaye's Printing Building loft conversions and the 6th Ave. strip mall is a cement slab of a storefront in front of a foundation hole being built connecting those two buildings. The thing might only end up being one storey and a few thousand square feet, but this is actually some NEW CONSTRUCTION going in downtown Fargo!! In the meantime, a loft apartment building on the corner of Center Ave. and 1st Street is the only example of new construction going up in downtown Moorhead that I can think of.

That's all for now.

A couple recent observations...

2006-06-30T18:44:00.000-05:00

I've been working like a bitch this past week, so I didn't have the time nor the energy to make any updates. But I had today off, so I was able to drive around the city and make a few obesrvations:

I noticed that a construction site has popped up at the corner of 9th and 13th in West Fargo at the Pioner Center. I was able to get a little glance at the foundation, and it seems like it's a 3,000 to 4,000-square foot building. Could possibly be a small restaurant. It's roughly the general footprint size of a couple of new stand-alone Subways that have recently built, like the one at South Creek Center on 32nd and the new one on South University. I don't think it will be a Subway though, because there's already two of them down 13th Avenue within a mile (at Cenex and at Wal-Mart). It could be a Taco Bell... They have not expanded that far west yet, and the nearest one on 13th is over 2 miles away. I don't even know if it will be a restaurant anyway, so this is just all speculating. I know it probably won't be a bank though, because there are already three banks on or near that corner.

Also, I noticed that another huge chunk of land adjacent to Mallard Creek Commons in south Moorhead on Highway 75 has been acquired by a development company, this one by Property Resources Group. They have a sign up that says retail and pad sites are for sale. Good news for that area. Also in Dilworth, recent news of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter just north of the current Wal-Mart on 34th Street north of Highway 10 that will be built soon will also spur more interest in the area. There's signs all on the land around OfficeMax and Slumberland in that area of Dilworth owned by developers.

Juano's just opened up at the recently renovated Kassenborg Block in downtown Moorhead, and the space next to it has a sign that says "LEASED".

There's new businesses going up in the Osgood development, including Cup of Joy, Suntana, AMP 24-7 Fitness (I think that's the name??), and Caribou Coffee at Hornbachers just opened up on Wednesday. Cost Cutters, Alerus Bank, JAZ Hair Salon, a post office, Gate City Bank, the PRG offices, Hornbachers Fuel Express and Hornbachers already reside there. I think there's one more place there that I'm forgetting that will open soon.

In Eagle Run Plaza, Hooligans, Goodfella's Pizza, a liquor store and Eagle Tykes Day Care already exist, and a place called Cloud 9 Day Spa, another tanning shop (Suntana??), an Alerus Bank, and that 24-7 Fitness place will all open up soon.

Woodhaven Plaza on the corner of 40th and 42nd is having finishing work done on it. The foundation for the new Western Center on the site of the old KXJB-TV building on 13th and 43rd has been poured. The new Town Center shops on the corner of 13th and 25th is starting to rise up from the ground. Texas Roadhouse in front of Lowe's looks almost done. A new 2-storey Choice Financial bank building has been topped off in front of West Pointe Centre next to HOM Furniture on the corner of 45th and 21st. (West Pointe Centre is also under construction). Liberty Square Phase II looks almost done. I hope the developers at CityScapes do like the rendering suggests and put a bagel shop in that place.

The Starbucks/Qdoba combo building at Holiday Center in Moorhead has been topped off, and finishing work is beginning.

And one more thing: the new Scheels Superstore on 45th Street and 15th Avenue opens TOMORROW at 9 AM!! I have work until 3pm tomorrow, but I will be there in the afternoon to check it out. Included in the new store is a huge NDSU Hall of Fame section, which is something I will definitely want to check out. I heard that the place will carry more NDSU merchandise than any other brick-and-mortar store on the planet, even more than the on-campus Varsity Mart Bookstore. If I had more money on me right now, I would get some Bison merch while the getting's good. But it'll still be nice to check out anyway.

Real busy lately...

2006-06-18T21:05:00.000-05:00

Hey all, I've been really busy with work lately, also I was up in Winnipeg last week (CHEAP BEER!!!), and I had to move into a new apartment, so unfortunately I wasn't able to keep up with the news front. Although since things have settled down for me, I have noticed a couple interesting things, namely that a new TCBY will be opening at South Creek Center on July 12. Also at the same place, a large vacant end-parcel now has signs that say "LEASED" all over them. I'm betting it will either be a new unique restaurant (Maybe Panera Bread??) or another bank. God knows we've been getting too many new banks lately. Maybe it's time for some of those bank chains to consolidate their offices downtown, and spur on some new low-rise/mid-rise downtown construction. (I'm going off on a tangent now.)

United Blood Services looks to be in their new 2-storey digs on the corner of 32nd and University, and Alerus Financial has opened up two new identical branch offices, one at Eagle Run in West Fargo and one at Osgood. The architecture is nice, but I wish they didn't go for identical plans.

Wal-Mart wants to build a new supercenter, but no longer at the disputed Hector site on 52nd and I-29. (Much to the pleasure of the NIMBY neighbours) Now they are interested in building in the new White Oaks Trust LLC development on the southwest corner of that intersection. The development will be called "District At The Lakes". Ground is expected to break in August or September. The article on both stories can be found here.

I heard through the grapevine that Hollister will open up in West Acres this spring. Apparently, they have been looking to open up at West Acres for a while now, but they weren't able to find a large enough space. It will be the first Hollister in North Dakota.

And what is the deal with the new Urban Plains By Brandt Development?? They claimed in the Forum this past January that construction would begin "as soon as the ground thaws", and it's now late June, and I don't see even any surveying or soil sample equipment out there. I hope they'll get on the ball with this soon. Foundations for the new townhomes (the first step in the development) should've been dug by now. Right now I'm just waiting for any news to be mentioned in the Forum about it.

Lots of good news today!!

2006-06-09T16:17:00.000-05:00

More exciting news in the Forum today. This article states that the new Hector terminal expansion (which is actually for $11 million) may have bids on it later this year. Also, according to Shawn Dobberstein, the Hector Airport executive director, there will be more considerable growth to the airport in the coming months and years. Expect new airlines, a terminal expansion, and new city destinations soon!!

Another cool story today was more news regarding the new White Oaks Trust development on 52nd Avenue South. It looks like the city planning commission will approve land to be used for the development, and it will be rezoned and have additional land annexed. The new lifestyle center will consist of three or so big-box stores, a new multiplex movie theatre, several hundred upscale housing units, several new upscale restaurants, a park, and a city center featuring new-urbanist design elements. This will probably be the development where SuperTarget builds its new store. Apparently, Menards still wants to build their store across the street from the development. This will be an exciting project that will complement the ongoing Urban Plains development on 45th Avenue South.

Exciting airport news!!

2006-06-08T18:11:00.000-05:00

Exciting news today in Fargo-Moorhead, as Hector International Airport today oficially adds a fourth airline, and along with it, a fifth direct destination. Delta Airlines' Delta Connection will now carry daily flights to Salt Lake City from Fargo-Moorhead's Hector International Airport. The cities that Hector now offers direct flights to are Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City on Four different airlines: Northwest, United, Allegiant and Delta. As a result, Hector International will have 44 scheduled flights on its busiest day (Tuesday), and 34 flights on its slowest day (Saturday).

More exciting airport news involves new renderings for the proposed $9.4 million terminal expansion at Hector International. This expansion would include an expansion of the terminal to the west to hold more baggage claim and car rental areas, and a north expansion to add on to the passenger waiting areas, and to make room for a fifth gate. Here are some renderings I found on the website:

The terminal expansion would add around 44,000 square feet total to the building, increasing it to around 120,000 square feet. However, the schematic planning process is still ongoing.

Sad news for those looking for a war...

2006-06-08T17:43:00.001-05:00

Today I stumbled upon the Grand Forks Life blog, where "GrandForksGuy" posted my rant about Grand Forks that I made last night. OK, so the people up north are aware that a Fargo-Moorhead blog exists now. But the post by "GrandForksGuy" and the subsequent comments made me feel like some people up I-29 are trying to start a little battle here, or something. Now, it is my principle to not make a big deal about comments made to posts on another entirely different blog, so I won't say anything other than that some of the comments regarding F-M and GF from the Forks homers were pretty delusional. It's almost like the people on the GF blog are egging me on. According to his post, I guess "GrandForksGuy" thinks I stole his name, because I use the word "life" in my blog title. Gee, I didn't know the word "life" was copyrighted. I'm sorry...

Well, I will say for a fact that I am not willing to be drawn into such a dick length contest involving such stupid and petty issues like which city has better this, or that, or so forth. I'm much more mature than that. I am a pacifist by nature, and I choose to prove myself the superior person by not getting drawn into a potentially harmful, petty, immature rivalry. This post is the last time in my blog that you will ever hear me mention Grand Forks, or the Grand Forks Life blog. I am very strict as to my choice of what to post here. This blog will be about Fargo-Moorhead urban development issues ONLY. If you're looking for a place where you can see neanderthals from either side argue over who can piss farther, this will not be the place. I will not give anybody from Grand Forks the satisfaction of starting up an online war. And quite frankly, it wouldn't be good for my health anyway.

WE ARE ONLINE!!!

2006-06-08T00:02:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the very first ever home for urban issues about Fargo-Moorhead in the entire blogosphere!! My name is Ari Gurkanlar, and I am an architecture student at North Dakota State University, and I have had a lot of interest in the urban structure of Fargo-Moorhead for a long time. I am originally from Fargo, and I lived in Minneapolis for 12 years, from ages 9 to 21. Three years ago, I moved back to Fargo to attend university here, and I was absolutely AMAZED at all the progress that was made since I moved away in 1991. The city literally DOUBLED in size. Fargo has made such a dramatic transformation in the past 15 years that the culture and lifestyle of the city has changed.

As an up and coming city in the Upper Midwest scene, with rave reviews from such publications as the LA Times, New York Times and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Fargo-Moorhead is starting to become more noticed by the general public. The overall cultural scene has improved for the better, and the standard of living has risen. In the future, my goal is to keep you all in the blogosphere updated with the latest news about urban developments in Fargo-Moorhead, and also the other cities in the urban area: West Fargo, Dilworth and Horace. The urban area of Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo-Dilworth-Horace (In other words, "The City",) has risen to over 168,000 people, and lots of new things are going on. This means a lot of news, and a lot of opinions. Times are really exciting in Fargo-Moorhead, and I want to be on the leading edge of that.

Again, welcome. This will be a thrill.

2006-06-07T22:02:00.001-05:00

Here's what someone posted from a Grand Forks blog:

"When I consider the emergence of so many Grand Forks blogs, it makes me wonder where the "Fargo-Moorhead Blogosphere" is. Aside from a couple of blogs at the Fargo Forum's Area Voices website, there doesn't seem to be many blogs that primarily cover Fargo-Moorhead issues. I guess it's just another area where we have Fargo beat, huh?:)"

Funny, funny shit. Well, I all I have to say to that is this:

1) Grand Forks is a town that's on a fast 3:15 train headed to Nowheresville. There are NO well-paying jobs, the town is dirty, it's depressing, it's full of drunks, the population there is declining (unlike the boom we're seeing in F-M) and the place is about 99 percent white.

2) Putting the respective universities aside, there is absolutely NOTHING in ANY category that Grand Forks has that can even COMPARE with Fargo-Moorhead. F-M is on a completely whole other level than Grand Forks. The flood in 1997 did more damage to that town than people think. That flood pushed Fargo-Moorhead ahead of Grand Forks in almost every aspect more than any other instance in history. The F-M urban area has almost three times as many people as Grand Forks, and our metro area is more than twice as large. This is like someone from Oklahoma City telling someone from Minneapolis that they have the Twin Cities beat in most everything. Kinda sounds silly now, huh??

3) About the lack of Fargo-Moorhead bloggers: Well, we're here. And there's nothing to stop us.

2006-06-07T22:02:00.000-05:00

Here's a pic and a caption for the early birds from tomorrow's Fargo Forum:

A new steakhouse franchise, Texas Roadhouse, will add another dining option for area residents when the 7,000-square foot, Louisville, Ky.-based chain restaurant opens in late August at 4971 13th Ave. S., just inside the western border of Fargo. Company officials say the 249-seat establishment, which will also include a bar, will have a staff of 160. Bruce Crummy / The Forum