Tom Wold and John Adams are big believers in Fargo's 45th Street.
They're the developers behind 45th Street Marketplace, a sprawling retail and office complex shaping up north of Interstate 94 along 45th Street in front of Home Depot.
"It's really amazing how much traffic there is on 45th Street," Wold said Tuesday.
Adams, owner of Adams Development, and Wold, an attorney, formed Dakota Developments for construction of Central Marketplace, several big box retail outlets, restaurants and a bank and office building on the 27-acre site.
Both also are in the hotel business. Wold Properties Inc. owns the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express in Fargo, as well as eight hotel properties in the Twin Cities, Texas, Kansas City and Colorado. Adams bought the Radisson Hotel in downtown Fargo earlier this year.
ADVERTISEMENT
Adams sold 12 acres on the west side of the development in 2000 to Home Depot, which opened last year. Land was leased to IHOP for a restaurant that opened along 45th Street earlier this year.
Now, steel columns and beams are being erected for Central Marketplace, a 52,000-square-foot retail outlet just behind IHOP.
Wold said leases are pending with six businesses, with space ranging from 1,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet, that plan to open with Central Marketplace in March.
"We've only got 15,000 square feet of space leased, but we think we'll do just fine there. We're pretty optimistic about the location," Wold said.
Fargo's 45th Street within the city limits runs from 32nd Avenue south, over I-94, and north to Seventh Avenue North.
Scheels of Fargo plans to open its largest store ever, a Scheels All Sports, at 45th Street and 15th Avenue Southwest in 2006.
According to the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments, 45th Street in the Home Depot area carries an average of 29,500 vehicles a day.
"Traffic there actually exceeds traffic on parts of 13th Avenue Southwest," Wold said. For example, 13th Avenue Southwest just west of 45th Street, in front of Wal-Mart, carries an average of 20,000 vehicles a day, according to MetroCOG.
ADVERTISEMENT
Wold said Dakota Development hopes to lure three larger -- or one very large -- retailer immediately south of Home Depot. He said the site also could host several restaurants.
"We have leases going out right now," said Jeff Schlossman of Schlossman & Gunkelman Inc., the Fargo commercial real estate company marketing the property for Dakota Development.
"Larger tenants are a little slower as far as growth right now," Schlossman said. He said he expects the lots adjacent to Home Depot and a proposed 43,000-square-foot bank and office building on the site to lease next year.
With Home Depot's parking area, and new parking around the Central Marketplace, the area is attractive for retail as well as restaurant development, Schlossman said.
A bookstore and hair salon are among tenants that will be announced.
"The visibility is good," Schlossman said. "Right now, most of the tenants will be new businesses or adding a second or third outlet in the area."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Gerry Gilmour at (701) 241-5560
