Developers have big plans for growing Watford
Posted 5/23/12 (Wed)
By Lauren Billing
Farmer Staff Writer
The American dream has always been rooted in the ability to own a home. But with very few homes available in and around Watford City, many have not been able to buy homes here, and therefore, are not establishing roots in North Dakota.
However, the rapid growth of residential developments to come this summer and fall and the next few years will drastically change that, allowing Watford City to fulfill the American dream of home ownership for more people.
There are currently nine different development plans in the immediate vicinity of Watford City. In total, they encompass well over 800 acres.
The largest development plans are residential subdivisions that include commercial lots, things like shops, restaurants and office space, to serve the immediate neighborhoods.
Fox Hills Village is being developed by Bakken Housing Partners. The subdivision will sit on the south side of Highway 23, just across from the Fox Hills Golf & Country Club.
Mark Bragg is leading the Bakken Housing Partners on the Fox Hills project, which is a master plan community.
The entire community will have 1,104 individual dwelling units, spanning 320 acres. It will include apartments, town homes, single-family homes, offices, retail, a hotel and open space, along with a community center that will also have day care and the possibility of a bowling alley.
Phase One of the project will cover 40 acres at the very northwest of the development and includes 470 apartment units, two office buildings, which will be available to rent, and 100 town homes available for purchase. Bragg expects that parts of Phase One will be completed this fall.
Bragg and Bakken Housing Partners are very committed to seeing that the Watford City community is getting exactly what it needs with Fox Hills Village. That means that the first 50 town home units will first be available to civil servants, which includes professionals like police officers, teachers or healthcare providers.
They are also allowing local business owners or locals trying to start businesses to have first option for any of the retail or commercial space they build within the subdivision.
“We really want to create a quality community that people can afford to live in,” says Bragg.
Construction on Phase One of Fox Hills Village is set to begin in June, with building to begin as early as July. A process that, according to Bragg, has never gone faster.
“The process normally begins with planning what to do with the land, then getting permits and then going under contract which can take months or years,” explains Bragg. “But we’ve gotten it all done in three months. I’ve never seen this process move so fast.”
Pheasant Hills is another large residential subdivision, covering more than 230 acres. It will be located northwest of Watford City off Highway 85. Steve Bryan, president of MRC Development, has been working on the project for six months and is close to final authorization. He plans to begin work as soon as possible.
“We have been hearing about the boom in the Bakken and the need for housing,” says Bryan. “We would like to be part of providing that for the area.”
Pheasant Hills will include multi-family units, single-family units and commercial lots.
Bryan and MRC plan to build and sell 500 multi-family units, with the possibility of some single-family units as well. There will also be approximately 300 lots that MRC will not build on, but will have available for sale to builders or individuals who would like to build within the development.
Pheasant Hills will have covenants and certain restrictions to maintain quality living for all of its residents.
“We are looking forward to developing in Watford City,” says Bryan. “The city has been very helpful and we have enjoyed working here so far.”
Cherry Ridge will be located southwest of Watford City off of 14th Avenue Southwest. Dan Fitzpatrick, president of Wild West Investments, is looking to build every type of housing unit within Cherry Ridge.
The subdivision will include apartments, single and multi-family houses, as well as commercial and retail lots.
Fitzpatrick and Wild West Investments plan to begin work in June, pending final approval from planning and zoning and the city council. Phase One of their project will include nine 10-unit row houses and seven 24-unit apartment buildings.
Fitzpatrick also plans to develop some single-family home lots, twin lots and four-plex lots for other builders to purchase and build on. In all there will be nearly 300 lots available to other builders or individuals for a total of 1,100 dwelling units in the entire subdivision.
“We came to the Bakken looking for somewhere to do some building,” says Fitzpatrick. “We picked Watford City because of the people. It took us less than half a day to realize that this was where we wanted to work.”
Watford City city officials are excited to see the incredible amount of building about to commence in the area, but also are keeping in mind what they want those developments to look like.
“The city is continuing its efforts to plan the transportation corridors, commercial zones and all types of residential zones to keep in step with the development activity,” says Brent Sanford, Watford City mayor. “The city council is also constantly working with other community groups to keep community infrastructure needs in mind such as daycare and affordable housing for essential personnel.”
Curt Moen, Watford City city planner, is currently addressing the city’s need for an updated comprehensive plan that will include all the new developments.
“The task of keeping up with all the growth seems daunting at times,” says Moen. “But the developers we are working with are all great and make my job a lot easier.”
Developments like Fox Hills Village, Pheasant Hills and Cherry Ridge, along with six others, will open the door for many of those working in the area to bring their families to Watford City and establish roots in the community.
The accompanying amenities, like hotels, restaurants and shopping, community centers, day cares and parks and trails, will add variety for residents, new and old. Enriching the community and providing much needed residential housing and services, will allow Watford City to again be a warm, inviting and permanent place to live.
Anyone interested in more information on Fox Hills can call Bakken Housing Partners at 1-888-958-3447. For Pheasant Hills and MRC Development visit www.mrcdevelopment.com.
Source: watfordcitynd.com
Wembley attendance by Kirklees Council deputy mayor slammed by Labour man - Huddersfield Examiner
Source: www.examiner.co.uk
Knill plays down Mirfin return - SkySports
Central defender Mirfin, 27, made 19 appearances for the Iron after arriving from Watford in February, scoring once, and helped shore up a leaky defence.
He first arrived at the club in 2008 when Scunthorpe paid Huddersfield £150,000 for him and, after 101 first-team appearances, moved to Watford on a free transfer last summer.
Knill told the club's official website: "I was with Sean Dyche (Watford boss) on Saturday and he said they plan to keep Dave there. At the end of the day he's their player and that's their choice. But we have looked at other alternatives and are continuing to do so."
Knill confirmed his interest in bringing back Wolves defender Jamie Reckord, who made 17 appearances while on loan for the last three months of the season, but was unsure about the 19-year-old's future.
"Jamie is a top player," he added. "With Wolves having gone down and with a new manager coming in he has the chance to shine there. I'm sure they will want to have a look at him in pre-season before they make any decisions on if he can go, but if they decide that he can go out then we would love to have him."
Source: www1.skysports.com
Blues announce Watford friendly (From Bucks Free Press) - Bucks Free Press
Blues announce Watford friendly
11:26am Wednesday 23rd May 2012 in Wanderers By Andy Carswell
CHAMPIONSHIP club Watford will pay Wycombe Wanderers a visit in the latest pre-season friendly to be announced by the Chairboys.
The Hertfordshire club come to Adams Park on Tuesday July 31, with the match kicking off at 7.30pm.
Blues players Marvin McCoy and Joel Grant both started their careers at the Vicarage Road club, who could include former Wanderers loanee Matty Whichelow in their squad.
It’s the fifth friendly to be confirmed by Wanderers, who also announced this week they will face Staines Town for the second successive pre-season campaign.
Last year they won 5-0 against the Conference South side in their first friendly, which saw teenage starlet Jordon Ibe announce himself to the world with a wonderstrike.
Blues go to Wheatsheaf Park on Saturday July 21 and also face away friendlies at Farnborough on July 14 and Forest Green Rovers on Wednesday July 18.
League One club Brentford will also face Wanderers in pre-season, arriving at Adams Park on Tuesday August 7.
Source: www.bucksfreepress.co.uk
Wembley appearance is lined up for Leicester Tigers - Leicester Mercury
Leicester Tigers look set to make their first ever appearance at Wembley three weeks into next season.
Details of a fixture between home club Saracens and Leicester are already being advertised on ticket-selling website www.eticketing.co.uk – a service used by many top Premier League football clubs.
The site has ticket details, a date of Saturday, September 15 and a start time of 2.15pm.
It also bills the entertainment for the day as being from "chart-topping sensation, Cover Drive" – a four-piece band from Barbados. Adult tickets range from £16 to £65 with concessions for juniors.
It reads: "On Saturday September 15, Saracens will take to the Wembley stage once more.
"This fixture will welcome Leicester Tigers to Wembley for their first appearance against Saracens at their second home."
Despite this detail, Premiership Rugby (PRL), the Aviva Premiership's governing body, say that no apparent plans will be made concrete until the 2012-13 fixture list is released on Wednesday July 4.
A spokesman for PRL said: "The fixture list has not been confirmed yet and they will be released on July 4, as planned."
It is understood that Saracens have requested a home fixture for that third round of competition though and, if Tigers are confirmed as their opponents, it will provide a first visit to the iconic national football stadium.
Saracens used Wembley for home games on two occasions last season.
They beat the Ospreys 31-26 in the Heineken Cup in a game that attracted 41,036 supporters.
They lost to Harlequins 24-19 in March at the same venue but attracted 83,761 for the all-London clash – a world record for a club rugby game.
Saracens will play their home games next season in Barnet at the renovated 10,000-seater Copthall Stadium.
Tigers did not wish to pass comment.
Source: www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk
Eric Schmidt: internet will bring down corrupt governments - Daily Telegraph
Mr Schmidt claimed that as more people in the developing world replaced their current phones with smartphones, several billion people would engage with the wider world via the web. “They will love their phones more than you do because they will be the way they get educated,” he told the audience of technology and policy experts.
He added, however, that “elites” would surge further ahead and start to use holograms to communicate.
Although Mr Schmidt declined to be drawn on Google’s current regulatory troubles in Europe, he reiterated their position that the company had done nothing wrong when it came to either competition law or the interests of the consumer. European regulators are investigating whether Google has unfairly prioritised its own products in search results.
He also said that laws to regulate pornography on the internet were “often a slippery slope”, and argued that Google would provide a better service to its users as it learned more about them, subject to their permission.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Clubs join Meredith hunt - SkySports
Source: www1.skysports.com
Comment now! Register or sign in below.
Or