BISMARCK-MANDAN IS RIPE FOR URBAN INFILL AND ADAPTIVE REUSE

By Cathryn Sprynczynatyk

If urban infill and adaptive reuse were easy, every developer would do it. Right? Greenfield development may need new infrastructure, but at least it is a blank canvas. Urban infill develops vacant or under-utilized parcels within existing developed areas. Adaptive reuse remodels an existing building for a new use or purpose.

In addition to our beautiful greenfield development, Bismarck-Mandan have some exciting developments of urban infill and adaptive reuse.

The Trestle Building

For decades, the north side of Bismarck’s Main Avenue between 6th Street and 7th Street was an empty, gravel parking lot. Once upon a time, it was the Lamborn Hotel and the original site for St. Alexius Hospital. It fell victim to the urban renewal mindset when half the buildings downtown were demolished to create parking lots. The City of Bismarck had owned the lot since the 1970s. The parcel had the potential to house an expansion for the Radisson Hotel, but that never came to fruition.

A few years ago, the City of Bismarck put out a Request for Proposals about developing the site. Developer David Witham recalls being at a City Commission meeting when another developer said they essentially expected to get the land for free, and they wanted to close the deal quickly to take advantage of housing funds.

“Stating that in a public forum essentially shut down that proposal” Witham said. “We came up with an offer that we felt was fair market value, and I don’t think the City would have accepted an offer that wasn’t fair market value.”

Witham is the President of Denizen Partners, the group that developed The Trestle Building at 630 E. Main Ave. in Bismarck.

“My background is in architecture and urban planning,” Witham said. “It’s a passion project for me to show the community what this project can look like in the community.”

The Trestle Building is a mixed-use building with commercial space on the ground floor, and residential apartments on the floors above. Witham said the biggest hurdle for the project was assembling the ownership group. He said out-of-state investors usually want projects to have 200-300 units, if they are going to invest. The Trestle Building has 52 units.

The Trestle Building has traditional walk-up apartments — like rowhouses in a major metropolitan area. By designing a series of five apartment stairwells, the architect eliminated the need for an interior hallway, which saved enough room for a greenspace.

“It’s a 90-foot lot, so we had to use every foot we could,” Witham said. “By eliminating interior corridors, we saved space. We wanted a greenspace in the middle of a concrete jungle.”

Witham said he is taking a hands-on approach to developing the commercial space — something he didn’t expect to do.

“I’m taking a more proactive approach to forming businesses,” Witham said. “It’s not what I thought I would be doing when I started this 4-5 years ago. We want to curate businesses and influence their ability to compliment and interact with each other. We can cater to the same customer who might come for a haircut and want to buy a bubble tea at the same time.”

In addition to a salon and bubble tea franchise, Witham is recruiting a fitness studio, a tiki bar, a food hall, a coffee shop, a grab-and-go food vendor, a commissary kitchen open to local food entrepreneurs, and a tacos of the world franchise.

Residential tenants started moving in Jan. 1. If The Trestle Building isn’t a good fit for a prospective tenant, Witham has been trading leads back and forth with another downtown housing development — Renaissance Lofts and The Grove Apartments by the Lander Group.

Renaissance Lofts And The Grove Apartments

Even though the Lander Group is located in Minneapolis, President Michael Lander is from Grand Forks, four generations deep. His wife is part of the Boutros family, which has owned downtown Bismarck property for generations.

“My whole portfolio is this kind of work (rather than greenfield development),” Lander said. “This type of property is exactly what we would be looking for. We feel this is the perfect location for the transition from beautiful, single-family housing to the downtown core.”

Renaissance Lofts are located directly north of the Bismarck Post Office at 500 N. 3rd Street in Bismarck. The Grove Apartments are immediately west at 120 E. Ave. in Bismarck.

Lander doesn’t normally build on lots that big.

“We are used to building on small sites,” Lander said. “We have built on a lot of former gas stations. I’m the primary designer at this company. I could see this as two different projects on this site.”

Renaissance Lofts is similar to a traditional apartment building with 68 units over four floors. The Grove Apartments are built like large houses divided into five units. In addition, three units are carriage houses built on top of the garages. The Grove is composed of 23 units.

“We want to fit into where we are going, and we go into neighborhoods that are serviceable by walkable amenities,” Lander said. “These are brand-new apartments with big windows and open floor plans that are built for today in beautiful old neighborhoods that are very walkable. For 40 years we have been building new homes in old neighborhoods. We love old treelined neighborhoods — not so big on the broken-down old house.”

Before Lander Group developed the properties, they were composed of single-family houses and a small commercial space. By the time landscaping is complete, Lander said they will have replanted over 150 trees.

“Our residents are attracted to the tree-lined, downtown, walkable core,” Lander said.

The project will be finished in a couple of months.

“I’m a proud North Dakotan,” Lander said. “There is very much of a can-do, let’s-work-together attitude. That’s been a really positive thing for me returning to North Dakota.”

Boulevard Apartments And Library Square

While urban infill can be tricky enough, adaptive reuse can have even more challenges — especially when it is designed for low-income housing.

East of the North Dakota State Capitol is the former Baptist Nursing Home at 1100 E. Boulevard Ave. in Bismarck. Originally built in the 1940s, the Baptist Home underwent many expansions up through the 1980s. In 2013, the organization built a new facility in north Bismarck and put the original Baptist Home for sale. Over the past 10 years, the project has taken so many twists and turns that Brent Ekstrom, Executive Director of Lewis and Clark Development Group, would be forgiven for thinking the project was cursed.

The Ruth Meiers Hospitality House, a homeless shelter, acquired the property with plans to remodel it into a transitional living facility. They were unable to get the zoning change they needed to permit the project. They approached both Lutheran Social Services and Lewis and Clark Development Group to ask them to buy the property and lease it back. Then, Ruth Meiers Hospitality House ceased operations. Lewis and Clark Development Group and Lutheran Social Services next planned to have commercial space on the main floor with residential apartments above. Then, Lutheran Social Services ceased operations in Bismarck-Mandan.

“We should have called this project ‘Perseverance,’ because if it could go wrong, it did go wrong,” Ekstrom said. “It was a huge struggle, but in the end it’s worth it. We’re at 90 percent occupancy in north unit. There is a definite need for affordable housing in Bismarck.”

The Baptist Home had two buildings — the main building is three-story brick with 80 units. The north building has 40 more units.

“The hardest part about adaptive reuse is a lot of times you don’t know what you’re getting into,” Ekstrom said. “The financing is difficult. If it was easy, everybody would do it. It costs the same to build affordable housing as it does to build market-rate housing. Construction costs are the same, but then you’re getting less in rent.”

Often, you run into unexpected construction expenses — such as asbestos, electrical issues, or plumbing issues. “It’s cheaper to build something new than do adaptive reuse,” Ekstrom said, “but then you get urban sprawl. You have to weigh all of that.”

Lewis and Clark Development Group specializes in lowincome and senior housing. Their offices are located on the ground floor of another project — Library Square in Mandan.

Library Square I and II are two apartment buildings that mirror each other on 1st Street NW between Collins Avenue and 1st Avenue NW in Mandan. The original building housed the Mandan Post Office and then the library. Located at 100 1st St. NW, the property had historical value, but the building wasn’t salvageable. To preserve the history, they incorporated historical features such as the original spiral staircase, a decorative archway, and a decorative window into the common area of the new building.

The building has 45 unites of senior affordable housing as well as a chapel, exercise facility, gaming room, and of course — a library.

“The senior population in North Dakota continues to grow,” Ekstrom said. “Any senior housing is going to fill up. Whether it’s affordable or it’s market-rate, senior citizens continue to move into the area from small towns as well as our own aging population.”