HORACE, N.D.-Fargo's southwest neighbor is bracing for a major boom.
Today in Horace, you'll find open fields and the occasional stream of commuters to and from Fargo.
Forty years ago, Zoning Administrator and former Horace Mayor Perry Ronning remembers the view looking much different.
"It was a pretty empty stretch along Cass County 17 or Sheyenne Street," said Ronning.
And in a few more years, it'll be getting even less empty, as Horace could soon swell to twice its size.
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"It's not that quiet little community," said Ronning.
The snow-covered earth is being mapped for some major changes.
"This is gold for real estate," said Shawn Zander, a Horace resident since 1999.
Right now homes are going up in seven different new subdivisions, ranging from modest starters to million-dollar mansions.
This week Fargo agreed to help the bedroom community manage its wastewater.
The deal is opening the door to even more growth and at least seven other developments are in the works.
"It will just snowball, said Ronning. "It will go pretty crazy."
The biggest proposed development will add 400 lots between the expected F-M diversion and the Sheyenne River.
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In total, the new neighborhoods could add up to a thousand new lots.
That would more than double the 850 currently here.
Some Horace residents are cautiously optimistic about welcoming their new neighbors.
"More density means more traffic," said Zander. "But I live on a gravel road, so to get that gravel road paved would be appealing to me."
Others worry residential sprawl could bring about urban expenses.
"Will it bring the taxes up? Said Ronning. "Will it bring the expenses of the infrastructure up? Are the developers going to pay for this stuff?"
Many of the projects are still in their planning stages.
And the city says it expects more infrastructure changes as the city develops.
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Horace is holding a community meeting March 29th to discuss the expected growth.
