Huge

Updates

Later, 11:15 pm: there have been a number of folks suggesting that KKR is at risk of overbuilding (see comments below). Kent, below, in the comment section has provided an outstanding argument supporting KKR. Another article that supports Kent's argument and KKR: Director, NDIC, outlines future oil and gas development in North Dakota, presented in October, 2012. 

Original Post

Wow, wow, wow -- I didn't think there would be anything about the Bakken in today's WSJ. Boy, was I wrong. Front page, huge story, section C: a boomtown is born in North Dakota: Williston, North Dakota. With photos. Huge story. Enjoy.

North Dakota, an epicenter of the nation's oil rush, is grappling with a scramble reminiscent of the most-heated periods of the housing boom.

Now, private-equity firm KKR & Co. is trying to capitalize by making a multimillion-dollar bet on a housing project in a town at the heart of it all.

KKR is expected to announce Wednesday that it will develop a sprawling master-planned community that could become a modern-day Levittown on the North Dakota plains. The project in Williston is expected to serve some of the thousands of workers pouring into the region who are searching for jobs but facing inadequate housing.

Just after posting this, I see a reader sent a link to the same story from another source: Daily Finance.  Maybe I'm missing something, but this seems like a big story.

The City of Williston today announced that affiliates and clients of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co including KKR Financial Holdings LLC, along with co-investors Pfeffer Capital and CP Realty, have acquired land to develop a high quality, permanent residential community in Williston, North Dakota.

If you go back to my early, early posts on the Bakken (I doubt I can even find them any more), I suggested Williston should have done this from the beginning -- bring in professionals. Meandering, "we" finally got there.

The project, The Ridge at Harvest Hills, includes 164 acres of land overlooking the city of Williston. Construction of infrastructure for the current phase is under way and will support development of up to 330 apartments which are scheduled to commence in Spring 2013 plus completion of lots intended for sale to homebuilders for construction of 500 single family, townhome, and duplex homes.

The Ridge at Harvest Hills will represent an evolution in housing stock and community planning for the city as developers and public officials worked together to include parks, recreation, and open space. Furthermore, the community was planned to slow or divert commercial traffic to further enhance the suburban feel of safety and security for its inhabitants. Importantly, and unlike much of the surrounding land, The Ridge at Harvest Hills is fully entitled and has immediate access to utilities so the new community can help solve the city's near-term housing shortage as well as long-term community demands.

For a mind-blowing photo of the Ridge at Harvest Hills, click here.