Williston To Take Jurisdiction Over $500 Million Shopping Hub -- April 13, 2015

Bakken.com is reporting:

A Swiss company planning a $500 million development on Williston’s outskirts likely will need to get a building permit from the city rather than the county. 

The city has notified Williams County that it plans to exercise its 1-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction, meaning the Williston Crossing project proposed by the international real estate company Stropiq will fall under city jurisdiction. 

The Williams County Commission last week approved the project, but there was debate about the company’s chosen location. Williston Mayor Howard Klug said he wished Stropiq had chosen a site within city limits. Klug told the Williston Herald that the city’s move to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction isn’t aimed at just that project, which is to include more than 1 million square feet of retail, entertainment, office and hotel space. 

“This is about the future of the city of Williston, and what’s going on in the extraterritorial jurisdiction,” he said. “If and when we annex it, we want to make sure it’s something we can bring into the city to our standards.” 

Klug cited as an example two crew camps located on property that the city recently annexed. They had to be retrofitted with expensive sprinkler systems and two of the camps were shut down after missing the deadline. One of them has sued.

Did anyone think this wouldn't happen? LOL.

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"No One Will Buy The Apple Watch"

Reuters is reporting:

Apple Inc is likely to quickly ramp up production of the Apple Watch after strong pre-orders outstripped limited supply.

Apple's website lists shipping times in June for some models, and four to six weeks for others, suggesting the company is straining to meet demand. 

However, analysts said Apple could sell between 2.3 million and 4 million watches in the quarter ending June.Apple was widely expected to disclose pre-orders on Monday, following its usual pattern after a product launch.

But Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said this may not happen this time because of the supply issue.

"Overall we view the trends over the weekend as an indication of solid demand paired with very limited supply, with supply being the most significant limiting factor," Munster said in a client note.

Munster, who thinks Apple will sell 2.3 million watches in the April-June quarter, expects the company to ramp up production between mid-May and June.

Headlines From The Williston Wire -- April 11, 2015

Menards in Williston and Jamestown to open this summer. No firm date yet for Menards in Williston but late May at the earliest.

Free timed parking to begin in downtown Williston; 3-hour limits for the most part. Goal is to get downtown employees to open up parking in front of their own stores.

On-line jobs in Williams County have dipped slightly. North Dakota saw 23,496 open and available positions in March 2015, an 11.5 percent increase over February, according to the latest Job Service North Dakota figures. But data continue to show the effect in some northwest counties, where oil production rules, in response to oil prices that have dropped by more than 50 percent since the summer.

Williams County narrowly approves $500 million shopping hub; Stropiq is the developer.

The McKenzie County Healthcare Systems, Inc., which was planning to break ground this summer on a new replacement hospital and clinic, as well as plans to modernize the Good Shepherd Home long-term care facility in Watford City got the "worst of the worse" bad news when bids came in $21,790,899 higher than originally budgeted. "Total bids came in at $79,147,609, which is $21,790,899 over our budget," states Dan Kelly, McKenzie County Healthcare Systems, Inc. CEO.

Band Day Parade: May 9, 2015

Williams County Approves $500 Million Shopping Hub For Williston, North Dakota -- April 7, 2015

Wow.

Wow. Wow.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

I've been waiting for this news all day, and where do I find it? At Rigzone of all places. Rigzone is reporting: Oil-Rich North Dakota County OKs $500M Shopping Hub.

One of North Dakota's largest oil-producing counties has approved a $500 million development with new stores, apartments and an indoor water park.

The project shows that even with a 50 percent drop in crude oil prices since last summer, developers see long-term potential in building amenities to serve the state's oil counties, which the U.S. Census Bureau has ranked as one of the country's fastest-growing regions for the past four years.

The Williams County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 on Tuesday to approve a zoning variance for Switzerland-based developer Stropiq LLC to build the roughly 200-acre Williston Crossing development.

More:

Stropiq plans to build, in four phases, 1 million square feet of retail space; 900 apartments, townhouses and condominiums; 600,000 square feet of office space; four hotels; and an indoor water park.

"There are plenty of smaller communities with many more retail options," said Stropiq's Terry Olin. "There's no reason there shouldn't be a shopping center here."

Williston, the Williams County seat, is the capital of North Dakota's oil boom and the project will be located just north of the city line. Stropiq's main pitch for the commissioners' blessing was the lack of current retail options in the Williston region, with Walmart and a 1950s-era JCPenney offering the best non-oilfield clothes shopping.