The Dickinson Press is reporting: Despite thousands of empty bedrooms, optimism still alive in ND Oil Patch.
"I do say we are busier than you would think we would be," said Tom Rolfstad, Williston's former economic development director.
Still, as drilling rigs went from more than 200 during the
boom to below 30, development has dried up. A Home Depot store that opened just three years ago will close next week.
Shane
Roers came from the family business in Fargo to Dickinson, where Roers
West has made a mark developing new projects for businesses, apartments
and homes.
Now, they're trying to weather the slowdown.
"I
think that there's definitely not a fear factor like there was in the
past, but I can tell you there's people not pulling the trigger on
stuff," Roers said. "As oil gets up to 40 bucks, maybe that will start
easing. If we can get up to 50 bucks -- it's going to take some time. If
it jumped up to 60 bucks tomorrow, it's not going to happen right away.
It's going to have to level off and get some stability until people
feel comfortable with it."
In Williston, hotels have the
biggest challenges. Twenty-two were built during the boom, and even
that wasn't enough back then. Now they have 1,800 open rooms and are
running at just 20 to 25 percent capacity, Rolfstad said.
"They're actually more on the bleeding edge than anybody," he said.
That's
one reason some in Williston want to shut down the remaining crew camps
for oil workers, allowing hotels to benefit from workers still here.
With
about 3,200 vacant apartments in Williston, Rolfstad figures about
6,400 bedrooms are vacant. And rents are down by "half at least," he
said.
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