2022 has been a year of tremendous growth for downtown Fargo; 2023 promises even more
November 14, 2022
FARGO – Brick by brick, parking lot by parking lot, downtown Fargo is filling in, and that makes Jim Gilmour a happy man.
Gilmour, the city’s director of strategic planning and development, pulls out a map of downtown and quickly points out a dozen spots that could potentially hold another five-, six- or seven-story building.
“There are probably 20-plus properties in the downtown” that are blighted or underused — good candidates for redevelopment — Gilmour said in a recent interview with The Forum. “There are probably even more parking lots that have some potential.”
EPIC Companies
EPIC Companies is well along in its vision of turning the area that was once the Gateway Center strip mall into a true gateway to Fargo.
The first of three buildings envisioned for the site, Gateway North, was completed in 2021. The second phase building, The Arch, is under construction. The purchase of the land for the third phase building, Unite, just completed. Here’s where things stand:
- Construction on The Arch, a seven-story, L-shaped mixed-use building, began in 2021 and is proceeding rapidly. The Arch will include underground and main floor parking, 16,500 square feet of commercial and office space, community room, fitness room, and the remainder of the space given over to 26 apartments and 32 condominiums, with one-, two- and three-bedroom options, many overlooking the Red River. “The Arch is the big thing for us in the coming year,” EPIC spokeswoman McKenzie Braaten said Tuesday, Nov. 8. It will open in the fall of 2023.
- EPIC sealed the deal for the seven-story Unite building on Oct. 31. The Fargo City Commission approved the sale of the property at 234 Main Ave. for $1.18 million. Construction is expected to start at the end of 2023, Braaten said. It will have parking underground and through Level 2, sharing space with commercial areas on the first through third floors. Apartments are planned for floors four and five, and condominiums for the top two floors. There will also be an outdoor plaza accessible to the public.