Homestead Grove
Homestead Grove is a new commercial and residential development currently under construction by Crary Homes and Real Estate on South Washington Street. This is the development - just across the street from the Aurora Medical Park - that includes the new Choice Financial Bank, a new strip mall, and a new two story office building. I stumbled across a site plan for the commercial portion of the property via the Crary website.
The bank in the lower right corner is the new Choice Financial branch. The office building in the center is under construction as is the strip mall to its right. Looks like the development will also include another strip mall, another bank, and a 3,000 square foot restaurant of some sort. Any rumors about what types of businesses are going to be filling these spaces?
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Although I'm sure that they'd make the effort, the restaurant building looks a little to large to be a Subway, unless they share space with Starbucks :-)
Perhaps it's the ever elusive IHOP or Dennys location, which would make sense. The nearest restaurant of any sort to this large and every growing larger area is Happy Joes, over a mile to the north, and the closest breakfast-type place is, what, Del's?
We already know about Crary and Dakota Lumber in the office space, and the 24 hour gym in the existing retail. Much as I deride them, a Starbucks or Caribou Coffee would make sense here, if no other reason that lots of people leave here going west on 47th or take Washington to 32nd and go west from there, thus missing the shops on South Washington at 24th and further north.
Add in the ubiquitous Subway, cell phone shop, discount hair place, and your free retail space is pretty much full.
Choice Financial is making quite a name for itself in the Red River Valley. Within five years it has become approx. half the size of Alerus Bank.
They are aggressive and able to streamline loans with amazing speed.
I was recently pondering the purchase of a GF business and Choice was able "approve" my requests in under 24 hours...
As one small business owner, I am most impressed and would invest in anything these folks are involved in.
You're probably just about right with your tenant list, Dale. I really wish that we could start to get some more interesting tenants in some of these new strip malls around town.
Also, there seem to be quite a few empty spots in the new strip malls that have recently been built....hope those will start to be filled before too long. I've been very surprised how long it has taken to get tenants in the Menard's strip mall.
As far as Denny's or IHOP, I think both of those chains would want a spot very close to the interstate. Homestead Grove's distance from the 32nd/Columbia area seriously limits the amount of non-GF traffic the stores or restaurants there will probably be able to get...unless they start to build some larger stores down there that would draw out-of-towners to the area.
I think the problem with the Menards strip maill is that they didn't have a local management firm. Dakota Commercial develops and rents out strip malls all of the time, but the Menards strip mall has taken forever to fill. You have to contact someone from out of state about it.
Will the new Valley Dairy that is going up just south of this development have a coffee shop like the one across from the Alerus? Would be nice if they could get a neighborhood restaurant like Friday's or Chili's in the development. Hopefully Crary will give the southend people a couple of options for eating a little closer to their homes.
Why is Grand Forks so development crazy?
And speaking of developments, what's going up across the street from University Station on Gateway Drive? You know, the delelopment just north of the those new homes around the Ralph. I haven't been over there in a while.
That is the site of one of Grand Forks' two new Bank Forward branches. The University Village site which you refer to will also have a Starbucks adjacent.
I'd like to see things like Erbert and Gerberts or Taco del Mar pop up in that strip mall. Another Subway would be snoozefest.
Taco del Mar
There were rumours about a year ago to this end, but nothing since (they just opened a new outlet in Fargo.)
As sandwich places go, I'd sooner see a Schlotzky's Deli than anything else, but chances are pretty slim for that.
Why is Grand Forks so development crazy?
I'll ignore the irony of your follow up question being about development :-)
There are a couple of things. First, many of us are from other parts of the country, or get around enough, to want something more than a Subway on every corner here. My wife and I frequent four restaurants on a recurring basis -- Mexican Village, Kon Nechi Wa, Campbell's and Mamma Marias (I know that all have their detractors, save your complaints :-) and would appreciate new choices. Even something as pedestrian as an Olive Garden would be a nice change of pace.
Secondly, development breeds development. The sign of a growing community is development, whether it be financial (banks, such as the one that you're asking about,) commercial or residential. On the south end, at least, growth has exploded over the past five years or so.
Where are the jobs for all of these new residents? At the commercial development, whether "in your face" retail, or businesses that hire a fair number of people, but that you never hear about.
Dale makes good points. I'd add that Grand Forks feels like it's at a turning point. Several negative events over the last several years, from flood to downsizing of the air force base, have left us feeling a little downtrodden and inferior to Fargo's uber-development. And while we'll never catch up, (And frankly, who cares if we do?) we do want to reach a critical mass where we can maintain commercial growth and industry and never feel like the very existence of the community can be threatened by a single event.
The second Bank Forward location is at 47th Ave S and S. Columbia according to the large billboard sign at that location...
I'm gonna vomit if another Subway opens up in the this town.
Nobody takes any risk in this town. These Subway franchisees have to be sitting in their gilded office going, "They liked the first 24 Subways, so they'll love #25." Ugh.
You know, at some point, there will be a Starbucks for every Subway in Grand Forks.
I heard they're trying to get a coffee shop in the Homestead Grove strip, on the corner, there's a drive through and everything. Too bad Starbucks is not opening any more locations this year.
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