Grand Forks Economy

[jdub27]

The GOBC would never allow it understand it.

 

Fixed.

[The Sicatoka]

Watzisnaem "Perky" Sparko, spokesman for the %gobc, provides the official %gobc response to "mag-lev": 

 

 

[Vegas_Sioux]

Yes, but Salisbury has nonstop service to two hubs, PHL and CLT. Next!

Yes flown to each many times. But that will change as the turbo prop to jet transition happens.

[darell1976]

Mag-lev bullet trains!

I thought a bullet train was already in the works from that nutcase who wanted to conbine the 2 universities.

[Cratter]

Some info on how much Amtrack loses in these parts:

http://www.inforum.com/news/3754565-see-why-amtraks-losses-mount-hop-empire-builder-train

[SiouxVolley]

Interesting story on a Baudette generic drug company that seems to be breaking out. Never heard of this company, but apparently eelfish from Lake of the Woods have high concentrations of Vitamin A and D so a couple of brothers started extracting the stuff and bottling it. It was later bought a couple times, and entered the generic markets.

http://www.minnpost.com/twin-cities-business/2015/04/big-pharma-comes-small-town-baudette-minnesota

http://seekingalpha.com/article/3284315-ani-pharmaceuticals-the-rally-has-just-begun

The second article is by a former hedge fund guy who has a fantastic record picking stocks.

[gfNDfan]

Watzisnaem "Perky" Sparko, spokesman for the %gobc, provides the official %gobc response to "mag-lev": 

 

 

I have a great story about Rastislav "SPARKY" Spirko...when UND was heading to the Frozen Four back in his day he did an interview with a TV station.  The reporter asked the usual question about how excited the team was to be going to be NC and how hard they'd have to work.  Sparky replied (on videotape) "We're going to skate our balls off!"  A nearby teammate immediately started snickering....obviously this was something he heard in the locker room and wasn't mean't for public consumption but THERE IT WAS on the miracle of videotape!   Hilarious!  It never made the air but did make the rounds behinds the scenes at TV stations...HEY media people need to laugh too!:-)

[SiouxVolley]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/theres-a-new-silicon-valley-of-drones-and-it-isnt-in-california-2015-06-22

A Herald editorial references this article on the New Silicon Valley for UAS. Looks like Grand Forks and Fargo are both going to benefit big time.

This is one industry where UND'S expertise and state support has definitely paid off locally.

[darell1976]

I didn't know what thread to put this question and I didn't want to start a new thread but on Thursday I took the fam through Riverside Park, I haven't been through there since shortly after the flood of 97, things look different by the dam there is a walking bridge going over the river. When did they build that and add a walking trail around the river? I am very impressed how they have improved the scenery around the river both downtown and around riverside park.

[SiouxVolley]

I didn't know what thread to put this question and I didn't want to start a new thread but on Thursday I took the fam through Riverside Park, I haven't been through there since shortly after the flood of 97, things look different by the dam there is a walking bridge going over the river. When did they build that and add a walking trail around the river? I am very impressed how they have improved the scenery around the river both downtown and around riverside park.

It's the Greenway, which has 20 miles of trails total on both side of the Red. There is a sister pedestrian bridge at the Lincoln Golf Course which makes a Greenway loop. Every time I'm in Grand Forks, take people down there, as it really adds to the two cities.

http://www.greenwayggf.com/

[Hayduke]

They renamed the truck stop?

No. They just dropped the nickname because of potential sanctions from the National Truckstop America Association. The owners and truckdriver stakeholders held a vote and decided to not have a nickname and be forever the defacto former name, so they will be just known as "Truckstop".

Now, all the other truckstops make fun of them. They should have called themselves The Roughriders Truckstop. Because the NTAA is now suing them for breach of contract.

Sic, or is that "breech"?

[The Sicatoka]

Just flyin' by the seat of my pants on that one.

[NoiseInsideMyHead]

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/3822002-mayor-proposes-no-increase-grand-forks-property-taxes

"I feel a 1 percent sales tax is warranted," because of the city's infrastructure needs, including a new water treatment plant and a 47th Avenue-Interstate 29 interchange, Sande said.

Can someone please explain the hard-on that some people have about an interchange at 47th?  Merrifield Road is already built out with a bridge and would encourage further expanded development along I-29 south of 32nd.  Exits at every mile hardly seem justified.*  Frontage roads and/or a soon-to-be-widened Columbia will almost certainly suffice for moving people about north-to-south along the east side of the freeway.  Not to mention the fact that the dust-covered master plan calls for it.  Yet, a new sales tax is somehow justified?

* - Why do I have this feeling that there are some people who want to artificially congest I-29 so as to hasten a reduced speed limit through town?

[SiouxVolley]

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/3822002-mayor-proposes-no-increase-grand-forks-property-taxes

Can someone please explain the hard-on that some people have about an interchange at 47th?  Merrifield Road is already built out with a bridge and would encourage further expanded development along I-29 south of 32nd.  Exits at every mile hardly seem justified.*  Frontage roads and/or a soon-to-be-widened Columbia will almost certainly suffice for moving people about north-to-south along the east side of the freeway.  Not to mention the fact that the dust-covered master plan calls for it.  Yet, a new sales tax is somehow justified?

* - Why do I have this feeling that there are some people who want to artificially congest I-29 so as to hasten a reduced speed limit through town?

Rumor are that developers will put in a Life Style Center or a Factory Outlet Mall, but they want access to I29 at 47th Ave S, not Merrifield Road.  Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but 32nd Ave S doesn't have much expansion room for retail.  42nd Street has some room, but no big box store will go there.

 

If Merrifield Road gets developed before 47th Ave, some of the property is in the Thompson school district.  It behooves Grand Forks to develop S 47th Ave first, as the GF school district will have an increased tax base.

Edited August 21, 2015 by SiouxVolley

[82SiouxGuy]

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/3822002-mayor-proposes-no-increase-grand-forks-property-taxes

Can someone please explain the hard-on that some people have about an interchange at 47th?  Merrifield Road is already built out with a bridge and would encourage further expanded development along I-29 south of 32nd.  Exits at every mile hardly seem justified.*  Frontage roads and/or a soon-to-be-widened Columbia will almost certainly suffice for moving people about north-to-south along the east side of the freeway.  Not to mention the fact that the dust-covered master plan calls for it.  Yet, a new sales tax is somehow justified?

* - Why do I have this feeling that there are some people who want to artificially congest I-29 so as to hasten a reduced speed limit through town?

Three miles between interchanges is a long way in town. If you look at places like Fargo, Bismarck, Dickinson, Sioux Falls, and many other communities you will see interchanges at somewhere between 1 and 2 miles (most are close to a mile apart until you get toward the edges of town). They want to build up retail along the frontage roads, including the rumors about an outlet mall, and it makes it more difficult to get visitors to drive a mile or more on a frontage road to try to find a store or mall. The Merrifield exit is great to create a truck bypass over the river rather than driving through town. 47th is a better location for building the frontage road network. Both will probably happen at some point in the next 10-15 years.

[NoiseInsideMyHead]

Rumor are that developers will put in a Life Style Center or a Factory Outlet Mall, but they want access to I29 at 47th Ave S, not Merrifield Road.  Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but 32nd Ave S doesn't have much expansion room for retail.  42nd Street has some room, but no big box store will go there.

 

If Merrifield Road gets developed before 47th Ave, some of the property is in the Thompson school district.  It behooves Grand Forks to develop S 47th Ave first, as the GF school district will have an increased tax base.

Three miles between interchanges is a long way in town. If you look at places like Fargo, Bismarck, Dickinson, Sioux Falls, and many other communities you will see interchanges at somewhere between 1 and 2 miles (most are close to a mile apart until you get toward the edges of town). They want to build up retail along the frontage roads, including the rumors about an outlet mall, and it makes it more difficult to get visitors to drive a mile or more on a frontage road to try to find a store or mall. The Merrifield exit is great to create a truck bypass over the river rather than driving through town. 47th is a better location for building the frontage road network. Both will probably happen at some point in the next 10-15 years.

I don't necessarily disagree, but a sales tax is not the way to go for a vanity project that may not even materialize.  I say, figure out the cost difference between (a) Merrifield with frontage road and (b) two interchanges, and let the developers foot the bill.

[82SiouxGuy]

I don't necessarily disagree, but a sales tax is not the way to go for a vanity project that may not even materialize.  I say, figure out the cost difference between (a) Merrifield with frontage road and (b) two interchanges, and let the developers foot the bill.

The developers will end up paying for most or all of the streets and sewers in that area through special assessments, adding a bridge to that might be difficult. In the past the Federal Highway funds would have paid for at least 80% of the bridge in most cases. Most of those dollars are gone now so they are looking at options. I don't think that anyone has the answer right now. But I don't think it's a vanity project. If they put in a frontage road system there is a pretty good chance it will fill in just like it did along I29 through south Fargo. It could be a good location for something like Fleet Farm, Costco, or other large scale operations that need the space. Putting in the 47th exit would help them develop in stages rather than having to pave the frontage road all the way from Furniture Row to the Merrifield Road all in one stretch.

[siouxforcefans]

Anything that helps to the south and takes some pressure off 32nd Ave has to be explored.  The gap between the Thompson exit and 32nd is far too long to hope either could feed the development, and 32nd is already a complete mess (esp frustrating if you know where you're going, since half the other drivers don't seem to...)

[darell1976]

Three miles between interchanges is a long way in town. If you look at places like Fargo, Bismarck, Dickinson, Sioux Falls, and many other communities you will see interchanges at somewhere between 1 and 2 miles (most are close to a mile apart until you get toward the edges of town). They want to build up retail along the frontage roads, including the rumors about an outlet mall, and it makes it more difficult to get visitors to drive a mile or more on a frontage road to try to find a store or mall. The Merrifield exit is great to create a truck bypass over the river rather than driving through town. 47th is a better location for building the frontage road network. Both will probably happen at some point in the next 10-15 years.

I would think a 17th ave S interchange would make more sense especially with the Alerus near by.

[SiouxVolley]

I would think a 17th ave S interchange would make more sense especially with the Alerus near by.

A 17th Ave S interchange would not increase developable property.  An argument can be made that a 47th Ave S interchange would pay for itself in future tax revenue, both sales tax and property tax.

Edited August 22, 2015 by SiouxVolley

[NoiseInsideMyHead]

A 17th Ave S interchange would not increase developable property.  An argument can be made that a 47th Ave S interchange built on the backs of area residents for the benefit of developers with the implementation of a new 1% sales tax would pay for itself in future tax revenue, both sales tax and property tax.

Fixed it for you.

[The Sicatoka]

My take: 17th Avenue needs an underpass (no ramps) like 40th Avenue in Fargo. That would be a big help. You don't have enough space for ramps between there and the Demers ramps but being able to get west of I-29 there would be useful both for Alerus Center and the city in general. 

They probably don't want to put ramps on at Merrifield because that road is considered the southern edge of the Grand Forks flood control system. Look at the height of that road and how even South Washington (Hwy 81) has to rise up to cross it. That's your clue. 

They want the overpass on a section line (main arterial) road. They do want the overpass inside the flood protection. Given that they have two options from 32nd Ave to Merrifield Road: 47th Ave or 62nd Ave. 

There is a pipeline corridor that crosses I-29 about one mile north of the Merrifield overpass. Yup, right about 62nd Ave. You don't want to have to deal with that. 

So, you're left with 47th Avenue. 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2015 by The Sicatoka

[SiouxForever]

And Quiznos on 32nd will be closing. Wow. How many restaurants or fast causal restaurants close in GF? Huge abundance of vacant buildings all over town. It's getting rather pathetic. Guess that happens when you don't bring businesses and jobs to the area. That's a story for another day, thoug. 

[NoiseInsideMyHead]

Understatement of the year.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/3823309-occupancy-rates-dip-grand-forks-more-hotels-are-being-built

The hotel market as a whole is down across the state, said Dean Ihla, tourism development manager for the Department of Commerce.

Slipping occupancy in the eastern portion of the state can be attributed to a weakening Canadian dollar and possibly overbuilding, he said.

You think maybe? 

[NoiseInsideMyHead]

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/3823303-leaders-unsure-how-fix-most-dangerous-rural-intersection-eastern-nd-near-grand-forks

I would support a smart, taxpayer-funded solution along Hwy 2 at the airport before anything on I-29.

Just so you know I'm not completely stingy with my tax dollars.