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Renaissance Zone Brings Developer to Downtown Bismarck | 11/08/2011

If you`ve been through downtown Bismarck recently, you may have noticed a bit of a building boom. Steve Pine didn`t set out to be a developer, but the longtime entrepreneur in the oil and gas business is building one of the most expensive privately owned mixed-use projects in the history of Bismarck.

Broadway Centre, located on the former Wilhelm Block on West Broadway, is a $25 million project that will offer 17 high-end condominiums, a full-service restaurant and 50,000 square feet of Class A office space.

"As communities go, what`s happening in downtown Bismarck is happening to most metropolitan areas," said Pine. "We`re starting to see a renaissance occurrence down here where we`re getting more restaurants, more lounges coming in, and I think we`re just going to see an upgrade of the whole downtown area over the next 10 years."

Jason Tomanek with the city planning department says the Pine project is another big step forward in the revitalization of downtown Bismarck, especially on the west end.

"It`s likely to spur other development in the area; neighbors will see an opportunity here to maybe make some improvements to their properties, think about different uses," added Tomanek.

Tomanek says Broadway Centre`s 17 condos will be some of the first new housing properties developed in downtown in several years.

"This is really going to test the market to see what the residents of Bismarck are looking for. What the housing component does for downtown is it will invigorate the nightlife," explained Tomanek. "A few years ago, downtown was pretty quiet after 6 o`clock."

Pine says developing a project of this magnitude might not be possible at all if not for the city`s Renaissance Zone and its incentive programs.

"The Renaissance Zone is one of the key factors that drew our attention to downtown. You get an incentive to put a quality project together downtown," said Pine.

The project is still in its early stages, with completion scheduled in 2013, but Pine says that nearly 18,000 feet of the second-floor office space is already spoken for, and there is interest in virtually all of the ground-floor space. He and his wife, Carla, plan to operate the restaurant at Broadway Centre.

Tune in next week when Jim takes a look at another new office development planned in north Bismarck, and be sure to check out Jim Christianson`s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/jimchristiansoninsidebusiness