While celebrating the grand opening of a four-story apartment and retail complex in downtown Williston, Chicago developer Nancy Kapp had a message for her banker:
“There’s no way on God’s green earth you’re ever going to own this building. It’s mine,” Kapp said.
Competition for renters in Williston is tough, and likely only going to get tougher. Some apartments are still being constructed in Williston even as the oil industry slowdown continues and vacancy rates rise.
In spite of the downturn, Kapp is confident that the downtown location, rooftop terrace and heated underground parking will attract more tenants to the $15 million Renaissance on Main project, which had about half of its apartments full when it formally opened this month.
“Because of where we are and because of the type of building this is, we don’t anticipate having a challenge,” Kapp said.
While developers such as Kapp remain optimistic about Williston’s long-term future, many expect tough times in the short term. Investors in several apartment projects told city commissioners recently they’re struggling with cash flow and talking to their banks about reworking their loans.
Other numbers at the linked article:
Williston has added more than 5,750 apartments since 2008 and has about 575 units still under construction, according to the city planning department.
Greystar, a property management firm that operates several buildings in Williston, surveyed occupancy rates of 20 developments earlier this month.
Complexes that have been open for a few years were about 75 percent full on average, and buildings that opened more recently averaged about 50 percent full, the survey found. The average rent of a two-bedroom was about $1,200, the survey said, about half the price Williston renters were paying four years ago.
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