Five of Grand Forks' highest buildings constructed since 2016; three are under construction now

Mar. 30—GRAND FORKS — From the top of the Canad Inn, it's easy to see the plains for miles beyond Grand Forks. Manvel is just to the north and to the south, Thompson is easily discernible by its high grain elevators.

The Canad Inn, at 13 stories high, is among the tallest buildings in Grand Forks, a city that is seeing upward growth in recent years. Three of the city's 10 tallest buildings (Altru's new hospital, Beacon by Epic and Franklin on Fourth) are currently under construction and two (Robin Hall and the Simplot freezer) were built within the last eight years.

While not skyscrapers in the traditional urban sense, City Administrator Todd Feland said he sees them as signs of growth and strength for Grand Forks.

"Absolutely," Feland said after being asked if the high buildings portray significance. He used the Simplot freezer as an example. He said the freezer — called a "high bay cold store freezer" in past Herald reporting

and one of only three in the nation, according to Feland — was a milestone for the region's ag economy.

"That was really a first sign of becoming a regional — and in this case a North American — center for agribusiness," Feland said. "... Above and beyond the investment, it was a sign that agribusiness wants to invest in Grand Forks."

Feland believes there will be even more agribusiness investment in the community.

"When people say 'Hey, did you know J.R. Simplot built a high-bay freezer in Grand Forks, one of three (in the nation)?' I think it sends a signal that this is a good place to invest in agribusiness," he said.

Feland said the upward growth reflects a strong economy and work by the city to incentivize development. Sales tax collections have been up citywide some 5% or more each of the past five years, he said, and certain sectors of industry — Altru and health care, agribusiness, Grand Forks Air Force Base and UND, for instance — have been strong.

In recent history, engineering has improved, too, he said.

"It's better foundational and better engineering, but also we've been more aggressive in upfront incentives. So if you are going to build a building, we want as much value and as good of a finish as we can on those," he said. "I think we have accomplished a lot of what we've tried to with what is going up today."

In Grand Forks' skyline, the Canad Inn stands out, due to its location on the city's far western edge. It's different from some of its company counterparts, said Jeff Demarcke, Canad Inn general manager in Grand Forks.

Other Canad Inn buildings built before, particularly in the 1970's, were built shorter, about three to five stories, and have since seen additions. The taller style used for the Grand Forks location — as well as ones in Brandon and Winnipeg, Manitoba — are better than the older style, Demarcke said.

"This is the route they took with the last three hotels they built," said Demarcke, who recently took a Herald reporter and photographer to the top of the Canad Inn to see the view. "They found this construction is a lot better for preserving heat and everything else versus having a super long hotel."

The Canad Inn has a certain status as one of the city's tallest buildings, but at 126 feet, it can't quite match the 185 feet of North Dakota State Mill, Grand Forks' tallest structure.

A study by the Herald, aided by city staff, shows that nine buildings in town reach higher than 82 feet, including:

* North Dakota State Mill: 185 feet

* Simplot freezer: 142 feet

* Altru Health System's new hospital: 112 feet 8 inches (130 feet with mechanical structure on top)

* Robin Hall at UND: 127 feet

* Canad Inn: 126 feet

* Columbia Towers: 107 feet

* Chester Fritz Library at UND: 85 feet

* Beacon by Epic: 84 feet, 11 inches

* Franklin on Fourth: 82 feet, 6 inches

Three other downtown structures — the U.S. Bank, former Dakotah Hotel and St. John's Block buildings — are notably tall and have multiple stories, but their exact height isn't easily found in city records, possibly due to the Flood of 1997.

In Grand Forks, there are limits to building height, said city planner Ryan Brooks. For industrial buildings, the limit is six stories, or 75 feet. For commercial buildings, it's four stories, or 50 feet. However, these change depend on what conventional zoning district the building is in. Downtown, for example, commercial buildings also have the six-story, or 75 feet, limit.

However, projects can be approved to go higher. The Franklin and Beacon projects are good examples.

"The Franklin on Fourth and Beacon downtown have worked through to allow it to go up to seven stories there," Brooks said.

The process to build higher takes applicants to Brooks' team. The review involves looking at the building's site plan, the footprint and other details. Brooks' staff considers all of the criteria as well as the possible setbacks. Plans are sent out for comment and concerns from the engineering department, fire department and public works department.

The group meets regularly to collect those comments and to respond to the applicants, who then potentially must make changes to their plans. Updated plans are given back to Brooks' office, and the steps are repeated until everyone signs off on the project. Then, it's pushed onto the inspections department and city building official Brandon Boespflug.

Boespflug and his team also look at the building's height and if it works under the 2021 International Building Code, as well as analyzing building occupancy classification and construction type. The occupancy classification is what purpose the building serves, such as educational, residential or storage. The construction type considers how well a building is protected against fire, for example.

Though more tall buildings are going up in Grand Forks, Brooks said he doesn't anticipate the city will see a major growth in tall buildings.

"I don't think we're going to go up 10 stories downtown," he said. "I think the Canad Inn went up as high as it did (but it was) more about proximity to the Alerus Center and then also a want or need to make a little bit of a showpiece there potentially. I wasn't here when that was built, but I think that might have been the intent there."

Boespflug provided the data about building heights for the Herald survey. The intent was to count only buildings in which people live or work; that means unoccupied structures — radio towers, for instance — were not included in the survey.