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Commissioners discuss offering downtown sites, including Mid America Steel, for convention-center proposals
Summary
Commissioner Strand proposed making downtown city-owned parcels available for developers responding to a convention-center RFP; commissioners debated site constraints, environmental cleanup and flood-protection needs. No formal action was taken after the motion failed to receive a second.
Commissioner Strand asked the commission to make certain downtown city-owned parcels, including the Mid America Steel site and the area around the Civic Center, available for developers to consider as potential convention-center locations in an upcoming request-for-proposals process.
Strand said offering downtown sites would expand options for proposers and allow the commission to weigh downtown proposals alongside other proposals across Fargo. "If the city could offer and make available some downtown properties to allow this downtown the downtown to be a potential home for a convention center that's my recommendation," Strand said.
The discussion focused on site constraints and the need for further study. Staff and commissioners noted the Mid America Steel site is partly in a FEMA-designated floodway, would require environmental cleanup and additional flood mitigation work, and has remaining foundations and railroad constraints. Engineering staff said a consultant has been selected to identify cleanup needs and potential grant opportunities; staff also said redevelopment would require additional flood protection to safely pass extreme flows and that some uses in lower floodway areas (for example, parking or permeable uses) are possible prior to major remediation.
Charlie Johnson, identified as CVB executive director, urged the commission to keep the process open and said making parcels available would not prevent proposals from elsewhere from being evaluated fairly. Commissioner Kolpak emphasized that the city should define what it can afford and sustain before selecting a design or site, and Commissioner Pippkorn cautioned that until diversion and certification work is finished the Mid America Steel site's developable area would remain limited.
No second was recorded for the motion to make specific downtown parcels available, and the meeting record shows the commission did not advance the motion that night.
Why it matters: the location and design of a convention center will shape downtown development and public investment. The discussion identified potential environmental and floodplain constraints that could affect cost and timing, and staff noted a consultant will analyze cleanup needs and grant opportunities.
What was not decided: no formal direction, ordinance change, sale, or site selection was approved; commissioners agreed the process should remain open to proposals and that developers’ submissions will be weighed against other locations.
Next steps: engineering staff expects to bring initial findings from consultant work to the commission in the coming year; commissioners indicated they will continue to evaluate sites and program needs as proposals arrive.
