Pathfinder Services, established in 1987, has provided oversight for multiple statewide projects, with a background in providing essential services to families. It will be overseeing Broadway Circle’s family homeless shelter, 17-unit low to moderate income apartment complex and a commercial property that includes a restaurant and The Lord’s Cupboard food pantry.

The city originally contracted with Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota as the project was being constructed. When LSSND went through bankruptcy, Project BEE stepped up, only to run into financial difficulties that required turning the project back to the city.

Broadway Circle is a project of the city’s National Disaster Resilience Program, utilizing grant funds from that program as well as other city funds. Construction on the homeless shelter was largely completed at the end of 2024 while the apartment building is just finishing. NDR Administrator Chris Plank said a certificate of occupancy should be in hand by late this week or next week. Remaining are parking lot striping and some entrance reconstruction to meet accessibility requirements, he said.

The city began requesting proposals in August 2024 to find an entity to manage Broadway Circle. After receiving no responses, the city released a second request in January, receiving two responses, People First Community Services and Pathfinder Services of North Dakota.

File Photo A homeless shelter, left, and apartment building, right, shown in March, are to open under the management of Pathfinder Services of North Dakota under an agreement approved by the Minot City Council Monday.

The city’s review team recommended Pathfinder Services.

In addition to management of the complex, Pathfinder Services will provide social services to residents to assist with transitioning to living on their own.

Pathfinder Services currently operates the comprehensive Homeless Connection Program, the Pathfinder Family Center to provide resources for families with children with disabilities, Pathways to Success to address youth homelessness in rural North Dakota, and North Dakota Housing Hub as a repository of regional resources.

Pathfinder Services also cites collaborations with other providers and government agencies, including the North Dakota Department of Human Services, Come AlongSide Others in Minot, Ward County Human Service Zone and North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.

Pathfinder Services will operate the project for the affordability period of 20 years as required by the NDR grant. The organization will pay lease payments of $5,000 a month to reimburse the city for its investment of reserve funds into construction, Plank said.

“I do feel comfortable with the proposal,” council member Mike Blessum said. “There’s experience here. There’s HUD experience. I think that the team that they’ve got is well positioned to bring this forward – as well positioned as we can expect. And at this point, we face 20 years of being under the thumb of the federal government to make sure that this is done right. This represents the best option that we’ve got to move forward.”

People First, of Minot, had submitted a proposal to manage and operate the apartment complex only. It proposed either a lease to own arrangement or outright purchase to acquire the apartments from the city.