Alongside Wal-Mart, it looks like Target wans to build on the intersection of I-29 and 52nd Ave. South.
Target eyes south Fargo:
By Mike Nowatzki, The Forum
Published Friday, February 24, 2006
In an abrupt move, the Fargo City Commission on Thursday voted to annex 201 acres of land that Target Corp. has been eyeing as a possible store location, according to the landowner.
The property, in the southwest corner of Interstate 29 and 52nd Avenue South, is kitty-corner from a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter.
Mayor Bruce Furness said Fargo needed to start the annexation process right away to ensure Frontier couldn’t annex the land into its city limits and capture the commercial development.
“We’ve been burned a couple of times, and we don’t want to get burned again,” he said, referring to past annexation battles with West Fargo and Horace.
Fargo Planning Director Jim Gilmour said the city was contacted about a week ago by a development group buying the property.
The land is owned by Comstock Holding Co. LLC of Fargo. Monte Kjos, the company’s chief manager, said he and his business partner, John Clemedtson, have been in discussions with Target Corp. officials for a couple of years.
“We talked to them about three weeks ago,” Kjos said. “All I know is everything is on hold. They’re going to wait until they see what Wal-Mart does.”
Target Corp. spokesman Joshua Thomas said he couldn’t be specific about land the retailer is considering.
“All I can tell you right now is that we’re generally interested in the area, but it’s far too soon to say we’re coming for sure,” he said.
Richard Ward, the real estate agent representing the land buyer, said his client has a purchase agreement to buy 110 acres from Comstock Holding Co. and an option to buy the rest of the parcel.
Ward, of Summit Real Estate in Fargo, would not divulge his client’s name, saying only that the man is from “out of town.” Kjos identified the buyer as White Oaks Trust of Las Vegas.
Ward said it was premature to talk about his client’s plans for the property. He said the annexation “appears to be something that he would have requested at the appropriate time.”
Fargo City Administrator Pat Zavoral said Ward’s client had talked to the city about annexing the land for commercial development.
“Whether he’s dealing with a Wal-Mart or a Target or something else, it’s irrelevant in terms of the services we need to provide and zoning we have to give,” Zavoral said.
Fireworks must move
The 201 acres also includes a 5.6-acre parcel that Starr Fireworks leases on the north side of 52nd Avenue South, in a section of land owned by Fred and Earlyne Hector.
The Hectors have asked the city to amend its growth plan to allow for a 50-acre commercial development, anchored by a Wal-Mart supercenter, in the northeast corner of I-29 and 52nd Avenue South.
Fargo city commissioners are trying to persuade Wal-Mart to locate on the west side of I-29, due to opposition on the east side from Fargo residents and the city of Frontier, which sits just south of the proposed Wal-Mart site.
Wal-Mart spokesman Ryan Horn said Wednesday that the retailer isn’t interested in the site west of I-29, in part because Starr Fireworks is leasing part of the property.
However, with the annexation, Starr Fireworks must relocate because city ordinance bans the sale of fireworks within city limits.
Gilmour said the city made special accommodations for Starr Fireworks by leaving it out of the Hector property annexation five years ago. Starr Fireworks was told at the time that it would have to relocate when the city annexed the land south of 52nd Avenue, he said.
“Eventually, we knew it was coming,” said Dino Alexakos, a manager at Starr Fireworks.
The annexation resolution approved Thursday calls for an Aug. 28 public hearing. Starr Fireworks will be allowed to sell fireworks in its current location for one year after that date, Gilmour said.
Quick decision made
Zavoral said city officials had talked to Ward’s client about annexing the land, and the City Commission originally planned to vote on it during Monday’s meeting.
Zavoral said Thursday’s special meeting was called after learning The Forum planned to publish an article today about Target’s interest in the property.
“Given the history of how communities around Fargo have done pre-emptive annexation, that’s what we have to do,” he said.
Fargo learned through annexation battles with West Fargo and Horace a few years ago that whichever city initiates the annexation process “first in time” has the legal right to bring the land into its city limits, he said.
Furness criticized the process as “backwards,” saying it forces cities to annex property before going through the planning process – meaning nearby communities often don’t receive notice.
“It causes hard feelings as this one likely will, as well, and that’s why it doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
City commissioners approved the annexation in a 4-0 vote. Commissioner John Cosgriff was not at the meeting but later said he supports the move.
Frontier surrounded
Frontier Mayor Tim Jones said a phone call from a reporter Thursday afternoon was the first he’d heard of Fargo’s plans to annex the land across I-29.
“We basically have no control over that situation, and we’re just going to have to deal with it,” he said.
The annexation means Fargo will surround Frontier on all four sides. Last month, Fargo annexed the 127 acres of Stanley Township along Frontier’s southern border.
Frontier could try to annex the 201 acres, but it would have had to ask Fargo’s permission because the land lies in Fargo’s zoning jurisdiction, Gilmour said. If Fargo refused to allow the annexation, the matter would go to mediation, he said.
“I don’t think Frontier had any intention of annexing it, but we’re better safe than sorry,” Gilmour said.
Jones said Frontier residents are more concerned about Wal-Mart’s proposed supercenter across 52nd Avenue. He said residents “absolutely” could accept a Wal-Mart store west of I-29.
“Our buffer is the interstate,” he said.