The sight of multiple new homes going up this fall in a north Minot subdivision next to the U.S. 83 Bypass reflects a positive change that’s occurring in some of the city’s stalled development projects.

The City of Minot has issued 22 building permits for new construction at Highlands at North Hill this year.

Highlands at North Hill is one of nine developments identified by the city as “arrested” but having potential for housing growth.

“These were developments that were either stalled or abandoned by their original developer, primarily due to market conditions. Just about all these subdivisions were platted during the oil boom era, and when the oil boom kind of fizzled out, that’s when the demand for new housing fizzled out as well,” said Brian Billingsley, director of Community and Economic Development for the city.

Jill Schramm/MDN School-owned property next to Erik Ramstad Middle School remains vacant, although previously platted for a housing development called Idlewild.

A report prepared by city staff in January showed 346 shovel-ready lots in these arrested developments. Since then, that number has dropped below 300 lots as construction has picked up.

Billingsley said construction of the new high school in north Minot is likely spurring some of the interest in these lots, many of which are in north Minot. In addition to Highlands at North Hill, there were19 building permits issued in Bolton Heights in northwest Minot through August this year, and permits were taken through September for 12 of 14 townhomes planned at 55th Street Crossing in southeast Minot.

This summer, Skyport subdivision in northwest Minot was rezoned for 19 lots, which could stimulate sales there in the near future, Billingsley said.

The nearby Tollberg Shores is the site of a proposed 72-unit apartment complex to be developed by Beyond Shelter for Minot Housing Authority. Ward County, the City of Minot and the Minot Public School District all approved a payment-in-lieu of tax proposed to make the project feasible.

To encourage development and construction generally, the city adopted tax exemptions for builders and homeowners.

Jill Schramm/MDN A construction worker delivers additional materials for assembling the foundation for a building in Skyport Addition in north Minot Sept. 27.

Home builders can qualify for a one-year property-tax exemption on the first $150,000 in improvements if the property is owned by the builder and is unoccupied. Special assessments and taxes must be current. A builder is eligible for the exemption on up to 10 properties within the city annually.

Purchasers of newly constructed homes can qualify for two-year property tax exemptions on improvements up to $150,000 if they occupy the homes and taxes are current. It applies to any single-family home, condominium or townhouse in city limits.

The city estimates builders and homeowners can each save about $2,500 annually in property taxes. The builder’s program expires March 1, 2033, and the homeowner’s program expires March 1, 2034, unless extended by the city council.

Billingsley said the programs have been popular.

“We’ve experienced a 33% increase in residential building permits since we’ve adopted that,” he said. “So despite the high interest rates, we’re actually building more homes than we were at this time last year.

“I think it’s good for the community. We need to keep building housing because if we don’t, we’re going to lose population. And if we lose population, we’re going to lose more of our workforce, and our employers are having a hard time filling positions right now,” he added.

Many of those new home starts this past year have been townhomes. Of 56 residential building permits, 34 were townhouse/duplex/twin home construction and 22 were single-family homes. Last year through August, there were 34 single-family homes and only eight of other housing types.

“The numbers are going up but there’s still a long way to go,” Billingsley said. “There’s still hundreds of lots that we need to have developed.”

There remain 1,355 lots in the defined “arrested developments” that are not eligible for building permits because they lack infrastructure, such as water, sewer and paved streets. Installation of infrastructure is a developer’s responsibility.

“Once the infrastructure has been installed, we inspect it to make sure it meets city requirements,” Billingsley said of the city. “Then we’ll take responsibility for maintenance.”

Some of the subdivisions are bank-owned because original developers have pulled out.

“We need to create the demand but we also need to find the developers too. So that’s another challenge that we’ve had is finding the developers to take over the subdivisions,” Billingsley said.

Regarding homeowner interest, Blake Krabseth, broker at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Watne Group, said lot prices on average haven’t changed significantly in the past 10 years in the residential market, but interest rates and building costs have discouraged residents from upgrading by building new homes. That also has meant fewer existing homes on the market and a lack of inventory for buyers, he said.

Even though commercial lot prices are typically 20-30% less than during the oil boom, the cost of new construction is influencing more companies toward renovation of existing buildings, Krabseth said.

However, Billingsley noted that as the flood protection project moves into eastern Minot, the city will be losing more homes to buy-outs, creating a need for replacement housing stock.

“We need to keep building more housing because we’re going to be losing housing,” he said. “For the past 10 years for Minot, it’s been two steps forward and one step back.”

Since 2013, the flood project took out 600 housing units, but the city added 1,388 housing units. The construction numbers include 931 single-family houses, 26 duplexes and 431 townhomes built during that time.

Six apartments were demolished since 2013 but the city also has gained a number of apartment units in the past 10 years as well.

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENTS:

Skyport

Skyport 6th Addition was platted in 2012 and contains 108 lots supporting several different housing types. Skyport 6th through 9th Additions have a combination of public and private infrastructure over nearly 25 acres. The property is located between 27th and 30th Avenues Northwest, bounded on the east by Eighth Street and the west by Northern Highland Apartments.

Tolberg Shores

Tollberg Shores Addition surrounds Ballentyne Lake in northwest Minot and is just southwest of Skyport Addition. It was platted in 2013 and is partially complete, with the western half of the subdivision having the necessary infrastructure to begin construction. About 60 lots that comprise the eastern half of the subdivision need additional infrastructure.

Bolton Heights

Bolton Heights, west of the U.S. 83 Bypass in northwest Minot, is bounded by 19 th Avenue and 30 th Street. The development is partially built-out with multi-family residential complexes, twinhomes and single-family residential. The remaining undeveloped portion of the property includes 158 residential lots without infrastructure.

Highlands at North Hill

Highlands at North Hill started in 2012 and has more than 100 lots that remain vacant. Landmark Drive and Granite Drive Northwest are complete with utilities. Ivory Street has utilities and one lift of pavement. Additional infrastructure will be needed.

Statesboro

The remaining undeveloped portion of Statesboro Addition was originally platted in 2012 as part of a larger development. It is located west of Ramstad Middle School and can accommodate 20 twinhomes.

Prairie Wynd 5th Addition

Prairie Wynd 5 th Addition is an abandoned subdivision near Ramstad Middle School. The development consists of 77 platted lots and a mix of single-family, twinhomes and four-plex townhomes. Most utilities appear to be installed but the city has no information indicating whether the work is completed and testing done. No street infrastructure exists. A detention pond has been installed, but no maintenance has been conducted.

Idlewild 3rd Addition

The Idlewild 3 rd Addition subdivision is owned by Minot Public Schools near Ramstad Middle School. The development was originally platted in 2013 and is comprised of 211 single-family residential lots. The full extent of the infrastructure that is installed is unknown. The work done on 32nd Avenue Northwest was outside of specifications in 2013 so must be redone.

Southwest Crossing

The subdivision is located west of the new Trinity Hospital. The City of Minot continues to research information on this housing project.

55th Street Crossing

Infrastructure build-out began in 2013. A mobile home park and townhomes are located on the west side of 55th Street. Land remains to be developed in that area and on the east side of 55th Street, behind Nedrose School and the Minot fire station.