Developers look toward Parshall’s East Side
By Jerry W. Kram
Parshall could see a burst of growth on the east side of North Dakota Highway 37 if the plans of a pair do developers come to fruition.
Steven Richards presented the council with a binder carrying the plans for a large extended stay motel that would be sited on First Avenue about a quarter mile east of the highway. Richards said his engineers at Bartlett and West have answered the question raised by the city’s engineering firm, AE2S. Those questions involved access to the site, stormwater drainage plan, zoning, and storm and sanitary sewer capacity.
Stevens said he would like to get a building permit approved as quickly as possible because his company, Missouri River Lodging, would like to start work on the foundations before the weather turns too cold for cement work. City Engineer Jasper Klein, said that AE2S hadn’t finished reviewing all the responses to its comments on the plan. The council agreed to give Klein time to review the latest response and will hold a special meeting on Friday, Oct 4, to consider Stevens building permit application.
The project, which will be called the Bakken Inn, will be a four story, 622 unit structure. It will include a sit down restaurant, cafeteria, gymnasium and laundromat. It will be build using modules from Champion Building Structures.
"This sounds like a good project," said Mayor Richard Bolkan. "The man camp (Richards had previous proposed) really wasn’t a good project. I would like to see this go forward. Traffic is going to be a problem. You really need to work that out with AE2S and North Dakota Department of Transportation."
Another developer, Rick Gokey of Eagle Rock Timber, also appeared before the council with plans for the area. He said he owns a set of lots that would also be accessed via First Avenue. He doesn’t have firm plans for the lots yet, but said he would like to develop the area for retail stores. He said his first goal attending the council meeting to find out what he needed to do to get permission to build in that area. His second request was for a conditional use permit that would allow him to place a small RV park on the property to house his employees. He said he would only need the RV Park for three to five years.
