Smith said 55th Crossing will have single-family and townhomes coming online for rent in 2024.

“We’re still going to pick up where we left off, providing more affordable price points in a mixed community. We want to make sure that we can target the largest market in Minot, which is the entry-to middle-class housing. We are developing portions of the project that will be upper middle class, higher-end homes for the area, but the bulk of the market that we’re going to target is probably the most in need – just homes that people can buy for with the jobs that we have locally,” Smith said.

Andrew Gudmunson, principal in 701 Development, saw opportunities in recent years to expand his real estate experience by developing lots in subdivisions where activity had cooled after the oil boom. 701 Development currently has been making things happen in the previously stalled development, Highlands at North Hill, in northwest Minot.

Construction of 16 single-family homes and 14 twinhome units has been moving forward this year at Highlands. Another 28 lots are in the process of being sold to a builder.

Construction workers tape around windows on a house being built in Highlands at North Hill in Minot on Sept. 27.

The neighborhood had 17 homes already built before 701 Development stepped in during December 2021.

“We were under the assumption that those lots were all shovel ready,” Gudmunson said. “One thing you learn is don’t make assumptions.” The company has dealt with unexpected issues such as nonworking street lights, missing second lifts of street asphalt and questions about the extent of a stormwater system. There also were changes needed to the original developer’s plans that required leaning heavily on the expertise of the City of Minot’s planning official, Gudmunson said.

For Smith, a dispute with the City of Minot over a development agreement landed the 55th Crossing project in court in 2018. The case resolved with new plans for moving forward last January.

“The City of Minot has been exceptionally great to work with,” Smith says now. “We’re working through how we can come up with mutually beneficial ways to continue improvements within the project, whether it’s landscaping, infrastructure improvements, amenities with the park board. The quality of homes that are coming for the price point, I think, will be very competitive in the city of Minot, which is really needed right now.”

Twelve permits for townhomes at 55th Crossing were issued so far this year. Smith said the intent is to seek permits for another 60 duplexes to begin construction in the spring.

Smith called it just a start.

“I want to build out all 132 remaining lots over the next four years,” he said of the Stonehaven property west of 55th Street. “We’re trying to bring on 50 to 60 new units a year out there. And we’ll continue that path for a long time. We have four or five years of just available infrastructure to build on, and we’re making plans to expand that, because with the amount of land that’s out there, we’ll be in business for quite a while,” he said.

Smith is looking for home builders who want to get involved.

“The door is open and we are actively engaging any outside resources we can to help bring more velocity to the community,” he said. “We’re looking forward to having significantly more construction in 2024 and working with more local builders.”

On the Legacy property on the east side of 55th Street, plans call for higher-end single-family homes.

“We’re going to do something that’s a little better than what’s been done in the past. I’ve kept control of this project to make sure that, in the end, we deliver something that’s amazing. Now, finally, the market and the will of the community has changed that we can do this,” Smith said.

Discussions have started with Nedrose School about how to facilitate future expansion as the area and enrollment grows, he said. Nedrose built its new high school on the east side of 55th Street in 2015.

“We’re currently working with the park district, and the ponds on the south end are going to be developed into fishing ponds, ice skating, paddle boats – like kayak-type rentals – with a permanent facility and a beach,” Smith said, describing it as a 19-acre lake in city limits.

Gudmunson, who had developed some lots in a couple of post-oil-boom subdivisions before taking on Highlands at North Hill, said 701 Development is eyeing other potential properties around Minot.

However, he identified lack of profitability as a challenge the city faces in finding developers to jumpstart projects. The going price for lots in Minot isn’t always enough to return the developer’s investment, he explained. Raising the lot price only increases the cost passed along to the eventual homeowner, who then may find the appraisal to be lower than the price paid.

“So that’s where we see our roadblock,” Gudmunson said.

However, having worked in building, rehabbing and selling both homes and commercial property for the past 12 years, Gudmunson understands that markets could settle themselves out in time and that challenges are part of the game.

“There’s challenges every step of the way, whatever part of the real estate industry you’re in,” he said.