Exclusive: FiveSouth Rising

By Steve Backman and Jeff Übl



In Bismarck, North Dakota, where a regional boom associated with the nearby Bakken Formation has made the state second only to Texas in terms of U.S. oil production, commercial development is on the rise. The missing piece of the puzzle for the city, however, has been the conspicuous absence of a defining downtown mixed-use destination: the kind of a social, civic, financial, and experiential cornerstone that gives residents and visitors somewhere to live, work, play and stay.



That is all about to change, as Cardon Development Group (CDG) has just such a project in the pipeline: FiveSouth. Together with Bismarck Futures, LLC, a group of business and community leaders invested in the growth and development of the city, CDG is moving forward on the $400 million project that could, in the words of city stakeholders, “change everything.”



FiveSouth, is more than just a promising opportunity, it is a potentially transformative development that is the result of years of planning and significant public and private cooperation and collaboration. As the lynchpin of the “Bismarck of tomorrow,” FiveSouth is designed to capitalize on the continuing momentum in both the city and the state, helping to activate Bismarck’s urban core and firmly establishing the city’s burgeoning reputation for a new generation of active young professionals. Plans are in place to break ground on the project’s $200 million first phase in early 2016.



New and improved

FiveSouth’s mix of residential, retail, dining, hospitality, office and entertainment components is unlike anything currently in the market. The masterplan outlines approximately 50,000 square feet of retail, 400 units of residential-over-retail and a 250-key full-service hotel. The project, which stretches from the corner of East Front Avenue and South 5th Street to East Indiana Avenue, does more than just add new features to the literal and figurative downtown Bismarck landscape, it does so in a way that neatly fills existing gaps in the center of the city.



The underused Fifth Street corridor running between the city’s bustling downtown and an existing regional mall was ripe for development. Downtown design and development guidelines and planning strategies were already in place, and FiveSouth directly addresses the need for added density and connectivity — resulting in a more vibrant, activated and engaging downtown environment.



CDG’s goal is to elevate FiveSouth’s significant residential component to deliver a true urban lifestyle experience. Creative and appealing amenities and high-end finishing details, combined with a convenient location in the heart of the city, will make FiveSouth the place to be in downtown Bismarck. The new hotel (the first new full-service Bismarck hotel in over thirty years), will be attached to the Bismarck Events Center, a preexisting sports and entertainment facility that seats up to 10,000. Together with an adjacent 200,000-sq.-ft. convention center, the complex will provide Bismarck with an unmatched regional hospitality resource.



In addition, the locally based University of Mary is in discussions to include additional student housing in FiveSouth, as well as to move some health-related programs downtown. The relocation would be a natural fit, given Bismarck’s thriving downtown medical community, which includes the CHI St. Alexius Medical Center and Sanford Medical Center.



Distinctive details

While the mixed-use dynamism of FiveSouth will bring new names and new options to Bismarck and its residents, the spaces between the buildings add almost as much interest and community potential as the buildings themselves. A large public park and communal gathering places feature prominently, including a plot of park space adjacent to the Events Center, that will do double duty as an exhibit space and as a public space suitable for celebrations, festivals and other community events.



Access and convenience have not been overlooked: the masterplan includes replacing all surface public parking stalls — including two new parking decks and adding approximately 200 new on-street parking spots. Walkable, human-scale design is evident throughout the project, which takes advantage of street-side dining, wide sidewalks and abundant landscaping to enliven the streetscape and enhance the pedestrian experience. To that end, FiveSouth includes a number of infrastructure improvements and thoughtful design details: including redesigned streets, blocks that can be closed off to traffic, and wide alleys lined with small retail spaces that grant access through to the parking decks tucked away in the center of the project.



While FiveSouth is clearly intimately connected to the City of Bismarck, it also boasts its own distinctive visual identity. Stone, masonry and brick acknowledge the region’s rugged Plains heritage, while subtle contemporary highlights of metal, glass and wood add interest. The result is a unique design palette that can be described as “cowboy chic,” and a project that is simultaneously a thrilling new addition and a familiar Bismarck cultural and commercial landmark. A project that seems set to become both an aesthetic and an experiential triumph, FiveSouth is just months away from breaking ground, and looks poised to become the centerpiece of a dynamic new downtown Bismarck.

CDG president Steve Backman and Jeff Übl of Übl Design Group, the lead architect on the project, provided the content for this article. Steve can be reached at [email protected] and Jeff is available at [email protected].