As successful as Dilworth's housing market has been the past seven years, commercial growth in the city of 3,000 has been stagnant.
"A lot of commercial property (along Highway 10) was developed in the 1990s," said Dilworth City Planner Stan Thurlow. "For whatever reason, it has slowed down."
City officials are hoping to change that.
The City Council is looking at extending utilities and infrastructure to property east of Dilworth on the north side of Highway 10.
The council will consider the project, expected to cost about $450,000, at an Aug. 11 public hearing, said City Administrator Ken Parke.
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Officials believe the 30 acres of commercial property east of the Starlite Motel will become more desirable to businesses when the Highway 336 project is completed next year.
That project will connect Interstate 94 to Highway 10, with an overpass bypassing the railroad tracks, and will improve access to the area.
"The reason it has been slow on the east end of Dilworth is there haven't been any lots available with the water and sewer pickup," said Rick Halverson, who developed the Woodbridge housing addition. "It was just a big open field out there. When we get the water, sewer and streets, it is going to be good, marketable land."
Twelfth Street Northeast will provide direct access to the property from Highway 10.
There is still about 50 acres available along Highway 10 on the west side of Dilworth -- about half the available commercial property in that area, Thurlow said.
Luring businesses can be frustrating because the major retailers tend to build in groups, he said. But Dilworth has an advantage because it already has a strong core of retailers.
"You don't see many towns the size of Dilworth that have a Wal-Mart, OfficeMax and Slumberland," Thurlow said.
Housing continues to be Dilworth's niche. Only four of the 51 lots in Dilworth's Woodbridge Addition have not been sold, Halverson said.
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An additional 69 lots will be ready for construction in September. Twenty of those lots have been spoken for, he said.
The growth in housing is bound to translate to more commercial development, Thurlow said. Currently, 16,000 cars drive through the city a day, he said.
"I know Wal-Mart and Target have been highly successful," Thurlow said. "Our feeling has been that more retailers are going to come."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Baird at (701) 241-5535
