September 26, 2019

Put Yourself In Good Company: Fargo’s Central Business District

Kilbourne Group is in the business of creating places where people want to be. Working in the beautiful neighborhood of downtown Fargo, we have quite the head start with our built environment. Fargo’s core has historically and culturally significant buildings, multiple neighborhood anchors such as the post office, library, city hall, and NDSU, and destinations for arts and culture enthusiasts, foodies, music lovers, and those simply looking to spend time where other people are.

As more people are choosing to live in the urban, walkable core of our city, we continue to seek new investors to help us continue to build projects in downtown Fargo.

Selling Fargo across the country is quite a privilege. Having the shared cultural phenomenon of the Cohen brothers 1996 movie bearing our city’s name is usually a great place to start. But after a bit of nostalgic banter, we dive into fantastic images of downtown and statistics of our educated and young workforce and people get interested.

For instance, did you know that Fargo has experienced a 2% population growth since 2000, and that we have 28% more millennials than the national average? Fargo’s growing workforce has 20% more bachelor’s and graduate degrees per capita than the United States average, and 27,000 college students in the region. This adds up to an interesting marketplace for growing companies.

Kilbourne Group is working to capture some of that job growth for downtown Fargo. Fargo InFocus, the city’s downtown comprehensive plan, found that while downtown is growing, it lags the region in pace of growth. InFocus, which is based on the input of thousands of Fargo residents, calls for downtown to be prosper as a business center. With 18,000 jobs and growing, downtown is vital to the regional economy and is a differentiator in business efforts to recruit talent to the region.

It is said in business that your people are your most valuable asset. Much research has been conducted to show how the workplace environment affects the engagement and job satisfaction of team members. Make sure your talented team members are excited about where they work. The perks of working and having an innovative, creative office space in a central business district are many.

1. A downtown location can help you attract talent. The top reason we hear from companies thinking about moving to or staying downtown is that a unique office space in the heart of our historic, walkable, amenities-rich city helps them attract and retain talented employees.

 

2. Downtown can be an exciting part of your brand and culture. Downtown Fargo is a quirky, lively, creative space that is full of culture and history. Naturally, these features are magnets for those who seek interaction and discovery. Having a downtown office space links your company’s brand to all that is great about the heart of our city.

 

When Doosan Bobcat looked for a location for its new digital innovation center, downtown Fargo came out on top. “When we looked at other facilities in Fargo, downtown became very advantageous because there are other players down there and because of the vibrancy of downtown Fargo,” said Joel Honeyman, VP of Global Innovation for Doosan Bobcat North America. “Downtown Fargo, for this area, is a really unique place. For us to attract new employees and for us to show we’re really working on new technologies in these areas, we felt it was important to have this kind of facility in Downtown to enable that.”

 

3. Downtown has places to meet people. Walking in Downtown Fargo, you are almost guaranteed to run into friends and colleagues on the sidewalk, which can inject new ideas and innovation into your business. Neighbors support neighbors, and there are countless places to meet for collaboration, brainstorming, change-the-world conversations, and opportunities to simply run into people who inspire you or take you in a new direction. Plus, it’s healthy for employees to interact with people from outside of their company every once in a while!

4. You are part of an active Central Business District. You can be close to clients and customers from anywhere downtown. So close, in fact, that you can walk to them if you choose. It’s also the most unique and intriguing neighborhood to show off to potential customers. You’re near banks, a hospital, city services like the post office and library, and of course local businesses, restaurants, bars, and entertainment.

 

5. Bring team members together in a consolidated office. If your office employees are inefficiently spread across multiple locations, consolidating in a new space provides a team-building and culture-building opportunity.

 

6. A downtown office aligns with companies who seek to do good while doing business. If you are conscious of your company’s triple bottom line, a downtown space could be right for you. The math proves that it keeps taxes lower for all taxpayers when we fully utilize and maintain the infrastructure that already exists before building new. When a company invests in their downtown, they’re using their purchasing power in a way that strengthens the city. Many businesses cite corporate social responsibility as non-negotiable in their ability to attract a new generation of team members.

With nearly 1,000 businesses in the downtown Fargo neighborhood, it’s become a place where you can fulfill all your needs within walking distance. After decades of businesses leaving our downtown, the hard work and investment of the public and private sectors are paying off. Once again, downtown Fargo is becoming a location of choice for business.