FARGO-Two familiar names, Scheels All Sports and Border States Electric , have bought land in one of the city's most visible undeveloped areas: the southwest quadrant of the Interstate 94 and Interstate 29 intersection.

Border States Electric plans to break ground in late summer or early fall on its new $18 million corporate headquarters building, with occupancy expected in 2019, at its new location near the interstate junction. It disclosed its plans last fall in an application for a city tax incentive, a deal worth $1.7 million in property tax breaks the commission approved.

But it's not clear what the future holds for the 59 acres Scheels purchased. A Scheels spokeswoman said the company regarded the highly visible land as an opportunity for future use, but has yet to determine what it will do with it.

"Honestly, we are still exploring all of our possibilities there," said Sherri Schmidt, assistant store leader in marketing. "We're very much assessing what our opportunities are as we make our future plans."

Right now, Schmidt added, the company is focusing on four new stores in development in several states.

listen live watch live

Scheels opened its current Fargo store, which includes an indoor ferris wheel and encompasses 196,000 square feet, in 2006 at 1551 45th Street S.

That location is 1.3 miles or 1.7 miles, depending upon the route, from the land Scheels recently purchased, in two adjacent lots, at 4001 and 4155 23rd Ave. S.

The sale price of the larger of the two parcels, almost 33.5 acres at 4155 23rd Ave. S., cost $10.7 million, according to records at the Fargo City Assessor's Department. Scheels also agreed to assume special assessments of $220,300, city records indicate. The price of the other parcel, 25.6 acres at 4155 23rd Ave. S., was not disclosed.

'Everyone sees it'

Both the Scheels and Border States Electric properties are located within the newly created Interstate Business Park, which the Fargo Planning Commission unanimously recommended be rezoned from agricultural to general commercial use. That designation would permit a wide range of uses, including retail, office and entertainment.

Traffic access to the business park, which consists of almost 77 acres, will be from 23rd Avenue South, 38th Street South, 22nd Avenue South and 41st Street South. The future intersection of 23rd Avenue South and 41st Street South is configured for a roundabout.

Although the sites are near the intersection of I-94 and I-29, there is no direct Interstate access to the business park. Jim Gilmour, Fargo's planning director, said parties interested in developing the area wanted to get a separate ramp, but state transportation officials would not allow it.

"It's got great access," Gilmour said, even without direct Interstate access. Also, he added, "It's one of the few parcels in the metro area where you can find a large area for development."

Scott Kjos, who is affiliated with Comstock Services, which owned some of the land purchased by both Scheels and Border States, said some prospective buyers were "worried about access to the land," but said the location is attractive because it is in a high-traffic area.

"If you want to promote your business, everyone sees it," Kjos said. Although Scheels has not divulged any plans for its property, "I think it could be a great retail location," he added.

Room to grow

Border States recently opened a new warehouse and electric supply store at 605 25th St. S. and will vacate its current corporate office at 105 25th St. N., which will become the new Fargo police headquarters.

Thomas Nelson, corporate communications director for Border States Electric, said the new headquarters will allow the company to consolidate all of its corporate office staff, now dispersed in three locations, in one building.

"This location at the crossroads of I-29 and I-94 provides great access to employee-owners and an outstanding location to design a facility which will accommodate our current needs and provide for growth," he said in a statement released Wednesday, April 12.

Border States Electric has 330 employee-owners in its corporate headquarters and expects to add more than 50 new jobs in its first year of operation, beginning in early 2019, Nelson said. Groundbreaking is tentatively set for late August.

The building, which has room to grow, can accommodate 540 employees, Nelson said. It will be near I-29 on 15.5 acres at 3801 26th Ave. S. The price of the land purchase was not made public, but the city tax incentive applications pegged the value of the land at $5 million.

Both Scheels and Border States Electric are employee-owned companies. Scheels has 6,000 employees and owns 26 stores in 11 states. Border States Electric has 2,200 employees and 100 branch operations in 18 states.