Monday, June 02, 2008

Another hotel for 42nd Street

42nd Street is quickly turning into Grand Forks' newest hotel district. In the past year, roughly 300 hotel rooms have been added to the 42nd Street corridor. The 200-room Canad Inn "destination center" complex opened its doors last summer and the 100-room Country Inn and Suites will do so this summer.

Now comes word that another hotel is on its way to this area of town. Visim LLP is planning a new hotel for the northeast corner of South 42nd Street and 29th Avenue South. Visim is connected to a Grand Forks hotel development and management firm called Yellowstone Management. Yellowstone owns and operates several hotels in Grand Forks including the Holiday Inn Express, C'mon Inn, and the new Country Inn and Suites.

So even before their new Country Inn and Suites opens its doors, Yellowstone/Vism appears to be planning for yet another hotel in the city. No word yet on the brand or size of the hotel. Has anyone heard anything about this project? Do you think we're starting to have an over abundance of hotel rooms or do you think we could stand to have even more hotels constructed in town?

Update - 6/5/2008 - 11:50 PM
This blog broke the story on Monday and now the Grand Forks Herald has an article confirming the construction of a SpringHill Suites by Marriott.

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

The more waterparks, the merrier!

Anonymous said...

Higher fuel prices= less people coming to Grand Forks to stay overnight= no need for these hotels.
Just watch and see.

Anonymous said...

Wait until the Canadian dollar tanks! Do they think the favorable exchange rate will last forever?

Anonymous said...

Why the negativity?? There is sustained growth going on in Grand Forks...not just because of the Canadian dollar, but also because of adding several new jobs, UND, and other amentities. Also, the higher gas prices might actually help the local economy in that people will be much less willing to travel to Fargo to shop and eat. Canadian shoppers may also be looking for the closest shopping, which is GF. Also remember that Canadians have been paying 4 dollars a gallon for years - this is no suprise to them.

Anonymous said...

I keep forgetting most of Grand Forks citizens don't have any type of commute. I graduated in 1992 and now live in New England. My commute is 50 miles roundtrip, 5 days a week.
What's the average GF person's commute, 9 miles a day at the most?
That's about $2 worth of gas? Consider your commute lucky, really.

Jo said...

Ditto on the commute - my husband and I used to live in GF and now live in Scotland. Our commute is around 70 miles a day (at least we work in the same place!) and with the current price of gas we spend £54 per week. OUCH!

The short commute is definitely one of the things we miss about GF :)

Anonymous said...

Im not quite sure what the length of someone's commute has to do with hotel rooms in Grand Forks...

Anonymous said...

Hey, um...sorry to interrupt, but thanks Grand Forks Guy for adding me to your sidebar. It means alot to me (husband keeps asking me why I'm laughing), you know, a little extra exposure...a photographer's nightmare, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, I got a really great rhubarb recipe from Deb Opp (she draws smiley faces in her Oh's...and they're perfectly round!) I'm gonna share that with you after I get back from my errands.

But I wanted to thank you Grand Forks Guy, for being the first to add a comment in my "Directions to Riverside..." post. It really means alot!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to see development on 42nd street, was a little surprised to see it's another hotel, but with the research and studies that are done prior to building, they must have felt there was a need. Wondering now if another hotel going up will have any effect on the second tower for the Canad Inn.......time will tell I guess. More stores, more restaurants, along with the hotels, 42nd street would be nice. They really do (in my opinion) need to do something though with the intersection/road at 32nd ave and 42nd street, single lane and no turn at the lights makes for a lot of traffic congestion after events and games.

Anonymous said...

okay, growingupartists, got enough of yourself already?

faking comments on your own blog?

more like growingupcomplexes

Anonymous said...

What???? Rhubarb recipes and hotels in GF have what in common???? I'm so confused...

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for the people that live at the west Westridge Apartment complex. That is so close to almost make it uncomfortable.

Anonymous said...

Talk about paranoid, anonymous. Btw, if anyone named Pack comes here looking for me...tell him I've skipped town.

GrandForksGuy said...

Faking comments is a little childish. I realize it probably was supposed to be funny, but it wasn't. I actually only stumbled across this blog a couple of days ago. I'm happy to add it to my sidebar, but please stop faking comments.

Anonymous said...

One thing Grand Forks is missing is an extended stay hotel. Fargo now has a Staybridge Suites, Candlewood, and Homewood Suites, which are three I can think of off the top of my head. I was thinking I counted 4 or 5 the other day. I think an extended stay hotel would benefit the area, since it's the choice of hotel for people moving to town, etc.

Anonymous said...

GFG: Nice scoop!

Anonymous said...

I posted the comment earlier that got deleted. I live in the West Ridge apartments and we had to go through a year of this Country Inn & Suites construction BS.

Now, again? Ridiculous...

Anonymous said...

What is the issue with the construction? I'm not exactly sure where your West Ridge Apts are but I don't see any apts next to Country Inn and Suites.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry everybody.I was just trying to have a little fun.

Anonymous said...

awww, cuuute!

okay, apology accepted. carry on!

Anonymous said...

If you didn't want to be surrounded by construction, then don't rent an apartment surrounded by some of the best available development land in the city. Just like if you don't waant drunks around your apartment, don't rent downtown...people never cease to amaze!

Anonymous said...

The Canadians are used to high gas prices, so I don't think that's an issue. The American dollar if anything is going to continue to weaken as well. My only question is: where are they going to get the people to work there--especially the housekeeping staff and so on? The local economy is finally providing much better jobs than what you can find at a hotel.

Anonymous said...

I am a Canadian, and we are not "used to high gas prices". It is the Canadian dollar that keeps most of the Canadians visiting Grand Forks....if the dollar drops significantly, combined with high gas prices, say good-bye to a lot of your visitors.

Anonymous said...

The satellite photo is old. West Ridge apartments are located directly north (across the street) from the new Country Inn and Suites hotel that is being built. The western West Ridge apartment building is literally located right next to the proposed "New Hotel" location in the photo, but since its an old photo, the West Ridge building had not been built.

Anon 2:52;
When looking for an apartment, most people dont ask about possible future developments next to their potential rental. In fact, knowing what land is "prime" for development is not something the majority of apartment renters know.

West Ridge apartments has some nice grassy areas, is in a relatively quiet locale, and is a generally nice place to live. Now that its going to be surrounded on two different sides by hotels, its going to get crappy. It doesnt take a real estate expert to realize that!

GrandForksGuy said...

How does having two hotels near an apartment building make that particular area "crappy?" Explain.

Anonymous said...

Grandforksguy:
Basically, mixed use developments have an effect on whats called Neighborhood character.

Neighborhood character is an amalgam of the many components that give an area its distinctive
personality. These components include land use; street layout; scale, type, and style of
development; historic features; patterns and volumes of traffic; noise levels; and other physical
or social characteristics that help define a community.

Anytime you have commercial development that close to a residential development it will have an effect, sometimes negative, sometimes positive on the property.

The WestRidge apartments will be negatively affected by the hotels for a number of reasons, too many to list here. However, increased transient traffic, noise, decreased views, more potential for crime, etc. are all examples that accompany situations such as this.

There is a plethora of literature and studies on this subject that a simple web search will produce.

Anonymous said...

"However, increased transient traffic, noise, decreased views, more potential for crime, etc. are all examples that accompany situations such as this."

I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a jerk, but, wouldn't the fact that you live next to a major interstate already bring those kinds of drawbacks to living there, regardless of how many future hotels pop up?

I mean, if it were me, and I was faced with the decision of whether or not to live a few hundred yards away from an interstate exit on one side and less than a mile from a major sports and entertainment venue on the other, I would have probably said "You know? This could end up sucking in a few years."

I'm just sayin'.

Anonymous said...

You forget we are Podunk USA and don't normally think that way.

Until now.

:-)

Anonymous said...

I understood the original complaint was about construction, not necessarily crime and the other things that come from an upper end hotel (hmmm?). If you live near a vacant lot expect that someone has plans for building on that property. If that land is located on a major road like 42nd St expect to have a commercial building on the property.

Lynsey said...

Eh, I wouldn't say you can expect construction on 42nd when you move into properties there. It seems like the whole road was pretty stagnant until the past two years or so. People who moved into Westridge probably had an "I'll believe it when I see it attitude" about any potential construction on the street.

Anonymous said...

Like any college town, alot of the tenants at WestRidge (and any other apartments in town) are students who will only live there for a relatively short time. Accordingly, in the long term they will not care about commercial properties being built next to them.

However, West-Ridge Apartments themselves are the ones that will be hurt by the development. It will affect quality of living, rent prices, demand, and many other factors in a negative way. As a result, potential tenants will be less likely to rent there. If you dont understand why, then do some real estate fundamentals research online or something, because it would take to long to explain it here!

Anonymous said...

As more new buildings are planned, another business has apparently gone under. I see that Overtime Bar and Grill is closed on 42nd street.

Anonymous said...

Really? Everytime I would drive past that place on a weekend evening it was packed! Crazy!

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure what the deal is with Overtime. I rode by it today on the City Bus and the marqui says "closed" and all the shades are drawn on the windows. From all appearances, the owners must have closed up shop.

Anonymous said...

I saw on the MLS listing of businesses...that the business was up for sale about a week ago. It was for lack of people going there for sure

Anonymous said...

Real estate fundamentals? Someone explain to me where the top apartment buildings are in town and then locate the distance to the commercial property. Yeah that's right, the commercial property is surrounded by apartments. Now that's fundamental.

Anonymous said...

Yeah fundamentals, something you clearly dont understand. Im pretty sure most community colleges offer a Real Estate 100 class, you should check it out.

There is a difference between redeveloping apartments in an area where there are ALREADY commercial properties and developing commercial propery where there is an already existing residential area.

Adding residential properties to commercial mixed use zones doesnt have that much effect on market value

Adding commercial properties to residential mixed use zoning CLEARLY brings down value. Its not brain surgery.

Anonymous said...

come on people, this is a suite hotel built by Marriot...you are talking like it is a sewage reclamaition plant. This business will not cause more crime and certainly not cause more issues with vagrants. Get real, and be happy that you will have a nice hotel to look at instead of an acre or two of weeds.

Anonymous said...

Real Estate 100? For your purposes I would say I actually am the instructor and you are the student. Any appraiser or developer will tell you when they built the West Ridge Apts, they actually researched the city's plans and found what the vacant lot was planned for. I don't think these people build multi-million projects without checking out the details.

As a side note, I do see the irony that the West Ridge apts. never would have been built if neighboring properties would have decided that construction noise was too much of a nuisance.

Anonymous said...

Theres a great book called "The Idiots Guide to Real Estate". You should check it out, although it might be a little too advanced for you.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:19:
Transient traffic does not mean homeless people in the context it was used. Clearly that would not be the case in GF since the homeless problem is minimal. In terms of adding a hotel, transient traffic means people just passing through town. This is similar to the fact that Grand Forks itself is considered a transient community, i.e., a very large part of the population only lives here while they are attending UND, and then move away upon graduating, summers, winter breaks, etc.

Anonymous said...

Also, while transient traffic does bring in revenue to the hotel and minimaly to the city through taxes, it does bring in the possibility of higher crime and more riff raff.

Anonymous said...

Once again - it is an upscale hotel built by Marriot...who in the heck would stay there with crime on their minds? this is not the Lucky Inn or Plansmen...The people in Westridge apartments really can't give two craps about property values. Look at the Westridge apartments. They are an overgrown complex full of college students and AFB personnell. (not that it is bad, but that is who lives there) It isn't like they are putting this in an area that is purely residential. This will breed other developments, sure, but who didn't see this coming on S. 42nd Street??

growingupartists said...

I like your "most recent comment" box. Drew me in when I thought I'd never be posting here again. Just didn't feel welcome. I suppose I could get into talking about transients with you all...I just dropped of a truckload of spinbrushes at the mission. They'll have to work for their own rechargable batteries.

Peace out (as my favorite guy here likes to say...it's not you Pack).

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:40:
I agree w/you about West Ridge tenants not caring about property value. Why would they?

Also, why are they one of the most expensive apartments in town?

I did a sex offendor search and most of them seem to be living in the northeast part of town. Maybe thats why? I dont know?

I think West Ridge is probably more expensive because a higher class of people live there while they are going to school, or temporarily living in GF.

Anonymous said...

Actually, higher class of people is probably inaccurate, what I meant to say is people w/higher incomes or socio-economic status.

Unknown said...

everybody wants to drive less..
Especially with gas prices being at what they are!! But, hopefully with today gas prices continuing to go down and now at pasadena California gas prices are at a hefty $1.82 :)
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