Dakota Hotel Ventures of Rapid City South Dakota announces two new Microtel Inn and Suites in North Dakota: a 77-room Microtel Inn and Suites in Stanley, and one in Watford City. The Stanley motel is scheduled to open in early spring.I drove around Williston again last night in some of the new housing developments, and past the new 145-apartment unit complex near Wal-Mart. I am convinced that by the end of 2012 the housing shortage in the Bakken will pretty much be alleviated.
The majority of folks in the man-camps will not be buying homes, and it's hard to imagine that the housing supply won't match demand. The biggest pressure will be on apartment units as more of the man-camp folks want a bit more freedom. The downside to moving out of the man-camps is the amenities provided by the man-camps: 24/7 dining, laundry, and room service.
Freeze warnings in Minneapolis last night. I put a moving blanket on my lame all green tomatoes to give them another week. My "early girl" tomatoes are definitively late this year!
ReplyDeleteBack to the business at hand. From U-tube videos I noticed that many of the "man camps" were cobbled together from mobile structures. Other videos show RV's and campers. With more
permanent structures this "temporary housing" will be removed and moved to newer areas.
If I were a developer, I would design an extended stay facility that could serves as first a permanent structure "man camp", then an extended stay motel and and then be converted to apartments. With some forethought it isn't that hard to do. You can, for example design a bar/restaurant space on the first level and used it for now as a man camp (food) "mess". Relatively modest design details allow future transitions.
Not related but I saw some local Minneapolis KSTP promo's for their reports from one of their reporters embedded with Minnesotans in Iraq. The Military has 40 foot containers with banks of telephones for calls home but they are empty nowadays. They cited my workhorse phone choice http://majicjack.com Mine was $69 for an additional five years so under $1.50 per month. For this I get a local phone number and voice mail to email when it is not connected. A lot of soldiers signed up for this so they have a toll-free number in their hometown. Far less bandwidth than skype video chat and no porn or whatever, just phone voice.
Another interesting program is a DVD video of reading a children's book. In this case a there is a library of children's books and a camera booth with a DVD recorder. With a USO grant and sponsor a soldier can read a childrens book on camera and the program will mail the DVD to the family.
The last time I bought bulk DVD's they were under $20 per hundred so even at the highest resolution this is two hours for twenty cents. (cheap). Hopefully they parent on the other end will "fill in the blanks" in reading the book to the children. The children's books are public domain so home copies can be cheap. The program seems a hit.
I definitely "support our troops" but the better the "bang for the buck", the more you can do. I will try to watch the KSTV.TV reports. This also applies to the many out of town "roughnecks" working in the Bakken. Staying in touch with hometown family and friends is important and it improves morale.
My nightmare scenario for the Bakken involves a lot of workers who have very fat bank accounts but figure the Bakken winter "really sucks" and there is work available in warmer climes.
My all-green "Early boy tomatoes" tell me that this will be a rough winter. Temp camps and trailers are a tough way to spend a winter. Also they use a huge amount of fuel.
You are correct about workers leaving this winter and not coming back until the spring. It will definitely slow down, and I'm sure it drives the field managers nuts.
ReplyDeleteIt is incredible to see the number of houses going up in Williston. I have trouble seeing them all being filled. I don't think the majority of folks living in man-camps plan to buy a home in Williston: that suggests they are leaving their own home (Idaho, Texas, Wyoming, Montana) for good, and that is a major decision not many are yet to make.
I think the decision has already been made for the vast majority.
ReplyDeleteThe workers will not live permanently ND , no way, no how.
"Permanently" is a relative word. It will take 30 years to drill out the Bakken, and it will still be producing to 2100 (see "Basic Analysis of the Bakken," linked at the sidebar at the right). Many out-of-staters see this as temporary, and that's why I maintain that most of those living in man-camps will prefer to stay there (in man-camps).
ReplyDeleteA few will decide to stay "permanently" after a few months when alternate adequate housing becomes available.
Over time, a few more will start to "grow roots" in the area and decide to stay.
But the vast majority will put off buying a home (or possibly even renting an apartment) for a couple of years.
I think, by 2013, we will see a steady state: a few folks will decide to stay "permanently"; the others will ebb and flow; some will leave "permanently" to be replaced by others.
I know a lot of folks who made the military a career (20 - 30 years) when they had planned to stay only 4 years. Whether it's a significant number or not, I do not know.
But it is interesting: life has a way of sneaking up on a person; some folks end up doing things and living places they never planned on.
That's what I love about America: so many places to visit, and freedom to choose to live where one wants.
The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. If first chose civil service so I wouldn't get hassled about long hair. Thirty-three years later I retired from civil service without ever stepping foot in a barber shop. That was not my original "life plan" but it worked out.
ReplyDeleteLast night at my local bar I was talking with an
architect not currently working in the field (few new buildings, even "yuppie" remodeling is way down). We did some drawings of "convertible buildings" on the back of some old flyers over a few beers.
Plumbing is forever and in northern climates you want it on the inside. Non supporting walls are easy so long as you build in frames for doors or passages or have knock out walls. You might start a building out as "super man camp" with a half bathroom and laundry/mini-kitchen. For extended stay these could get fewer and larger. For apartment/condos they would become larger perhaps with goodies like a "half bath" (toilet and vanity for every bedroom).
After the basic drilling and infrastructure is completed in Williston there should be plenty of work maintaining it. The past "oil busts" in Williston were caused by a huge drop in the price of crude oil. World demand is increasing and Saudi Arabia had to resort to their "special blend" to offset the Libyan shortfall.
There will be a lot of people in Williston with money and work follows money. When it comes to housing, "terra-firma" definitely beats "temporary".
Creativity is the key. It is slow now but my drinking buddy designs "curb compatible" replacement houses for urban lots. I live in a Sears Catalog house. Almost a decade ago I showed him some books I have on Sears precut houses including catalog reprints. Modern, low maintenance high energy efficient construction but from the curb they fit right in with the 1920's houses.
BTW: Architecture tends to repeat mistakes. My 1920's Sears house catalog (reprint) had all the plumbing in the center of the house where it was far less likely to freeze. My parents 1950 house has pipes on the outside walls. Every bad cold spell the Minneapolis news has stories of burst pipes on outside walls of even newer houses. They never learn!
Wow, you and I are on the same page with regard to "thinking outside the box."
ReplyDeleteI have property on which I have never built but that lot is surrounded by McMansions which I could not afford, but I have often thought of proposing a building plan to the homeowner's association for a McMansion that could be build in modular units over time.
Each iteration would have a gorgeous but relatively inexpensive facade that would be removed as we moved to the next iteration.
Ah, yes, to dream.