City of Minot offices began moving to a new downtown city hall in late April, making the relocation official on May 1. The new space for Central Dispatch in the building remained under construction for a while longer, opening Nov. 7.

The city purchased the former Wells Fargo Bank building for $2.6 million in 2020 and invested nearly $15 million in remodeling the structure for a city hall. Construction started in early 2022.

The relocation of city hall and emergency dispatch from a potential flood zone was a project of the city’s National Disaster Resilience Program. The city spent $7.57 million from NDR grant funds and received a $50,000 state grant toward the project in addition to about $7.3 million allocated in general fund and city sales tax dollars, according to information published in The Minot Daily News.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony May 11, City Manager Harold Stewart spoke of the intention that went into the building’s redesign.

The second floor of Minot City Hall offers spacious public space.

“We truly wanted this to be a building of the people, for the people. We designed this to be a space not only to come in and pay your water/sewer bills and ask questions about your property taxes and occasionally attend a council meeting. We truly wanted it to be a space where the public can come and interact while they are enjoying our downtown. So there’s a lot of public space built in here,” Stewart was quoted in The Minot Daily News on May 12. “We really, truly want the public to come and engage with us in this facility and use this facility as their own.”

The new City Hall also accommodates some offices that were located in city buildings other than the former city hall, due to the lack of space in that building.

Later in the year, on Aug. 18, the city opened its new Fire Station 5 in northwest Minot, celebrating with a public open house. Ground had been broken in June 2022.

“This station improves and expands the umbrella of fire protection for the residents of Minot, provides crews with everything they need to serve and protect our community. It provides residents of northwest Minot with a greater sense of security, knowing that when an emergency happens, we are closer than ever,” said Fire Chief Kelli Kronschnabel, quoted in the Aug. 19 issue of The Minot Daily News.

As stated in the Aug. 19 issue, the station on the west end of Fourth Avenue Northwest near the Highway 83 Bypass includes a kitchen, lounge, bedrooms, a captain’s office, laundry and fitness facilities as well as a garage and other spaces for modern trucks, equipment and training. Lining a hallway are framed photos featuring the fire department over the years.

Residents fill the first floor of Minot’s new city hall at an open house in May. The city remodeled a former bank building to bring its city offices closer to the heart of downtown.