WEST FARGO - As the revitalization of the north end of Sheyenne Street continues with construction of Sheyenne Plaza and Pioneer Place in the 300 and 400 blocks, work is underway to give the south end of one of West Fargo's main streets a new look.
When the School District bought 13 acres of land needed for its ice arena in February, leaders planned to work with the city of West Fargo and developers to create a master plan for the area that would include room for businesses and restaurants in one of the few commercial spots left in West Fargo.
Todd Berning, who heads the $12 million Sheyenne Plaza project on the north side, and associates are considering a multi-building plaza that would be home to retail and restaurants, residential space and an open-air public pavilion on the northwest corner of Sheyenne Street and 32nd Avenue.
"I think it goes a long way to bring other things to south of the interstate," Mayor Rich Mattern said this week. "There could soon be more people living south of I-94 than north. This brings some amenities to them."
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ICON Architectural Group, based in Grand Forks, has created conceptual designs for the project. It is a two-phase development that would build up the area just east of the West Fargo Sports Arena, a $20 million two-sheet ice arena being built by the West Fargo School District.
The first phase of the project, which carries a roughly $54 million price tag and will be built on about 6.3 acres, would include at least three mixed-use buildings with a parking ramp that surrounds an outdoor space where public events could be held.
The space, similar to an open-air pavilion, could host public events such as concerts or North Dakota State University sports viewing parties, with a standing-room capacity of up to 2,000 people.
"The idea is to have everything from concerts to craft shows to sledding hills there," said Matt Marshall, the city's economic services director. "It's meant to be flexible and home to lots of different things."
The pavilion space may even have an outdoor skating rink. "It would be full NHL-size, so possibly there could be an exhibition game out there sometime," Marshall said.
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Berning said construction could begin as soon as this fall and be completed in about a year or year and a half. The School District plans to finish the West Fargo Sports Arena by this fall.
"We'd like to have a couple buildings in the ground as soon as possible," Berning said.
The $42 million second phase of the project on the remaining 4.5 acres to the north of phase one will be developed by 25th Street Investments. It is still under conceptual design, Marshall said.
The City Commission approved a tax increment financing district for the project, with the expectation that the project could bring in more than $13 million over 20 years in taxable value to the city.
Final designs for the plaza will be brought to the city commissioners later this year.
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