In April, a disaster of unprecedented scale destroyed much of this city. First, floodwaters ravaged it. Then, fire broke out and incinerated 11 buildings in the historic downtown.
The devastation of Grand Forks, particularly of some of its leafy neighborhoods, left old-timers in tears. But when they saw downtown in ruins, some locals cheered.
“The most exciting development that has occurred in the central business district this century” is how John O’Leary, head of the city’s office of urban development, describes the disaster and the aid that follows.
Even the local chamber of commerce isn’t weeping about downtown’s destruction.
“We dreamed about taking a bulldozer and knocking that . . . down,” says its chairman, Jack Carroll.
How often does a city get a chance to start over, with the past swept clean as if by some miracle? It is rare, which is what lends an almost biblical quality to the Red River flood of 1997.
The high waters obliterated a downtown that had been reduced to adult bookstores and abandoned retail space.
“We’re being given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says Steve Silverman, a 44-year-old businessman who lost two buildings in the flood.
To help rebuild Grand Forkys, population around 50,000, the federal government has slated a grant of $171 million, and city leaders have decided that about $20 million of that will be used for improvements to make the downtown area more appealing to businesses.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo says: “Let’s consider it an expedited urban-renewal program.”
But that is where the fantasy ends. Indications are that when Grand Forks rebuilds its downtown, many people won’t come. The biggest business there before the flood was First National Bank North Dakota, which owned two buildings.
Now, it is operating out of a warehouse 20 blocks west while officials ponder where to build the new headquarters. The real estate consultants they hired didn’t salivate at the prospect of a new downtown.
“Every developer I brought into the city said, `You’d have to be crazy to build downtown; you have to build out south,’ ” says Randy Newman, president and chief executive officer of the bank.
In fact, the south is where things are happening–and have been for some time. Columbia Mall was built there about 20 years ago, spurring a boom that hasn’t stopped. Strip shopping centers, a slew of fast-food joints, some new apartment complexes and several office buildings now dot the area, about three miles south of the city’s center.
So why was downtown falling by the wayside even before the flood? Or, as people here might put it: How did Grand Forks get to the point where its elegant 900-seat Metropolitan Opera House became a bowling alley?
Some of it has to do with the same inexorable forces that face many cities, large and small. When developers wanted to move in, they found land cheaper and more available outside downtown. The critical mass for businesses gradually moved out of the center.
Even with the infusion of aid, the news for Grand Forks’ downtown isn’t encouraging. Since the flood, eight manufacturing companies have expressed interest in building or expanding here. But only one might be interested in downtown, says O’Leary, the head of urban development.
Many former occupants are reluctant to return. The flood destroyed Grand Forks Glass & Paint Co.’s 60-year-old downtown store, prompting its owners to open a new shop south of the city center.
They aren’t going back, no matter what. In fact, co-owner Jan Satrom says she and her husband had planned to move the store anyway.
“We’re much more visible out south,” she explains.
Downtown boosters acknowledge the appeal of Grand Fork’s fringes, but they say it is simply another obstacle to overcome.
“If we don’t take some risks, we’ll never be a bigger, better community,” Mayor Pat Owens says.
Don’t even mention the fringes to members of the newly formed Re-Imagining Downtown Committee. What they envision is a city with more to brag about than chain stores popping up at its edges.
“If somebody were going to show you Grand Forks, they’d say, `Here’s Wal-Mart,’ ” says Michael Maidenberg, publisher of the Grand Forks Herald and chairman of the committee. “That’s not Grand Forks, that’s white bread America.”
The committee wants a downtown that would pay homage to the river that destroyed it. Beacons at each end of downtown would light the way for a boardwalk on the river.
There is talk of a new museum devoted to the subject of river transportation. Committee members also foresee specialty restaurants, coffee shops and a town square to host concerts and such.
But even boosters say more is needed.
“Putting pedestrian furniture on the streets and planting trees won’t be enough,” O’Leary says. “We have to change the role that downtown plays in our economy.”
To that end, the City Council recently approved funding to start construction of a four-building corporate center.
